, 

^     '•<:  s 


•    ir 


THE 


BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 


BY 


HELEN     S.     CONANT 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


BOSTON: 
JAMES   R.  OSGOOD  AND   COMPANY, 

LATE  TICKNOR  &  FIELDS,  AND  FIELDS,  OSGOOD,  &  Co. 
1875. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1868,  by 

TICKNOR     AND     FIELDS, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


UNIVERSITY  PRESS  :  WET  CH,  BIGEI  ow,  &  Co., 
CAMBRIDGE. 


PREFACE. 


IN  offering  this  little  volume  to  the  public  of  youthful 
readers  the  author  wishes  to  say  that  it  has  no  claim  to 
the  completeness  of  a  scientific  treatise,  but  is  merely  the 
result  of  a  summer's  rambling  through  the  woods  and 
meadows  of  New  England.  It  is,  however,  accurate  as 
far  as  it  goes.  The  illustrations  have  been  drawn  and 
engraved,  with  great  care  and  accuracy,  by  MR.  ALBERT 
C.  RUSSELL,  of  Boston,  from  specimens  in  the  author's  col- 
lection, and  all  the  descriptions  have  been  carefully  studied 
from  nature.  The  volume  is  published  with  the  .hope  that 
it  will  awaken  in  boys  and  girls  a  greater  interest  in  the 
study  of  a  delightful  branch  of  natural  history  ;  and  the 
author  will  be  fully  satisfied  if  other  little  folks  find  in 
reading  it  as  much  pleasure  as  it  has  already  given  to  a 
little  boy  named  Tom,  for '  whom  it  was  written,  and  to 
whom  it  is  fondly  dedicated  by  his 

MAMMA. 


2051551 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter  Page, 

I.    INTRODUCTORY i 

II.    THE  FIRST  BUTTERFLY 6 

III.  FLOWERS  AND  BUTTERFLIES 14 

IV.  A  RAINY  MORNING 21 

V.  THE  HILL-PASTURE  ........      25 

VI.    THE  OLD  CELLAR  HOLE 32 

VII.  BUTTERFLY  TALK      .        .       ;  .     .       .       ...        .37 

VIII.  THE  RAIL  SWAMP         .......         42 

IX.  CATERPILLARS  AND  CHRYSALIDS                     .       »       .      49 

X.  THE  DEN  ROCKS   .        .        •       .       »    m[       .       .         55 

XI.  AN  EVENING  WITH  ANNIE  WEBB    .        .       .   -    •       -70 

XII.    JULY  BUTTERFLIES 74 

XIII.  THE  HAY-FIELD , '  ;       .       .82 

XIV.  HAL'S  MISHAPS  IN  THE  WOODS '93 

XV.    THE  LITTLE  WOOD-BROWNIES 100 

XVI.  SKIPPERS         .        .        .                                                         106 


Vi  CONTENTS. 

XVII.  THE  BOATING-PARTY.  —  DRAGON-FLIES.        .        .        .  in 

XVIII.  THE  MOUNTAIN  TRAMP 122 

XIX.  ABOUT  MOTHS 138 

XX.  ABOUT  MOTHS    (Continued) 146 

XXI.  THE  BUTTERFLY  FESTIVAL 156 


LIST.  OF   BUTTERFLIES   AND    MOTHS. 


Page 

Agrion,  Beautiful 

.       I2O 

Hippar 

"        Common   .         . 

I2O 

" 

"        Gigantic        .        . 

.       120 

» 

Arctia  Acrea  .         .         . 

ISO 

Lackey 

Argynnis  Aphrodite  . 

.         76 

Libellu 

Bellona    . 

80 

Lycsens 

"        Idalia. 

76 

" 

"         Myrina    . 

•  '       79 

Melitas 

Attacus  Cecropia 

i     146 

Nymph 

"       Luna 

141 

" 

"       Polyphemus  . 

.     146 

Papilio 

"       Promethea 

146 

it 

Ceratomia  Quadricornis 

•     155 

M 

Colias  Philodice 

18 

Polyom 

Cynthia  Atalanta 

.      89 

« 

"       Cardui       . 

89 

« 

"       Huntera 

.       87 

Sphinx, 

Danais  Archippus  .    ,    . 

.    '      64 

" 

Dryocampa  Imperialis 

72,  151 

Thecla, 

Eudamus  Tityrus    . 

107 

Tinea, 

Hesperia  Hobomok   .        . 

.     108 

Vanesss 

"         Leonardus        . 

109 

" 

"         Peckius 

109 

M 

Hipparchia  Alope  . 

101 

M 

"           Boisduvallii 

.     103 

Nephele  . 
Semidia 

Lackey-Caterpillar  Moths  . 
a,  Fairy 
Americana    . 
Epixanthe 
L  Pharos 
alis  Disippe 

Ephestion 
Asterias      .        . 
Troilus 
Tumus 

matus  Comyntas     , 
Lucia 

Pseudargiolus 
Clear-winged     . 
Quinquemaculatus 

genus 
it 

Antiopa     . 
Comma 

Milberti     .         / 
Semicolon 


Page 

100 

.      103 

IO2,  125 

.         72 
121 

.          40 

41 

.          80 

•  66,  74 

•  74 

•  3°,  37 

•  37 
28 

•  47 
/         46 

•  45 
156 

•  154 

47 

•  139 

n 

72,97 

98 

.       96 


CHAPTER   I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

NE  beautiful  evening  in  the' 
early  part  of  April,  Rose  and 
Hal  Merton  were  standing  to- 
gether under  the  big  Elm-tree: 
which  shaded  the  lawn  in  front 
of  their  father's  house.  They 
were  looking  down  the  long, 
hill,  up  which  wound  a  narrow 
country  road,  that  passed  under" 
the  wide-spreading  branches  of  the  Elm,  and  then  twisted- 
off  round  the  foot  of  the  mountain. 

"Rose,"  said  Hal,  "I  wonder  what  kind  of  a  fellow- 
Cousin  Tom  is.  I  more  than  half  wish  father  had.  not 
invited  him  to  spend  the  Summer  with  us." 

Rose   smiled,   and   pointed   down    the    road.      "You   will' 


2  THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

soon  find  out  what  kind  of  a  fellow  he  is,"  said  she,  "for 
there  comes  the  carriage." 

Hal  and  his  sister  turned  and  walked  to  the  front  gate, 
where  they  waited  until  Mr.  Merton  drove  up  and  pre- 
sented Tom  to  his  cousins. 

Tom  Stewart  was  the  only  son  of  Mr.  Merton's  sister. 
His  father  was  a  wealthy  Boston  merchant,  and  Tom  had 
passed  all  his  life  in  the  city  home,  his  country  experience 
being  limited  to  Summer  excursions  with  his  parents  to 
some  fashionable  resort.  Close  confinement  to  study,  and 
lack  of  good,  hearty  exercise,  had  begun  to  show  their 
effects  upon  Tom,  and,  although  a  tall,  handsome  boy  of 
fourteen,  he  was  pale  and  slender  as  a  girl.  It  was  to 
put  color  into  his  cheeks,  and  strength  and  vigor  into 
his  whole  frame,  that  Mr.  Stewart  had  sent  him  for  the 
Summer  to  share  the  country  sports  of  his  cousins. 

Tom  was  quite  homesick  the  first  evening  at  the  farm- 
house, and  had  but  little  appetite  for  the  fresh  biscuits 
and  baked  apples  and  cream  his  Aunt  Merton  had  pre- 
pared for  his  supper.  Even  the  kind  attention  of  Rose 
failed  to  cheer  him  up,  and  he  was  glad  when  the  time 
came  to  take  his  candle  and  go  up  stairs  to  the  neat  little 
chamber  he  was  to  occupy  during  the  Summer. 

When  Tom  waked  the  next  morning  all  the  homesick- 
ness of  the  previous  evening  fell  back  heavy  on  his  heart. 
He  thought  he  never  could  and  never  would  like  the 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  3 

country,  or  anything  about  it.  But  by  the  time  he  was 
ready  to  go  down  to  breakfast,  the  fresh  air  and  clear 
morning  sunlight  began  to  exercise  an  exhilarating  effect 
upon  his  spirits.  Hal  was  whistling  a  lively  tune  out 
under  the  Elm,  and  Rose  was  singing  as  she  sat  at  work 
on  the  front  doorstep. 

"  Good  morning,  Tom,"  said  she  ;  "  are  you  rested  yet  ? 
Mother  has  saved  breakfast  for  you,  and  I  guess  that  by 
this  time  you  must  be  very  hungry." 

"  Have  you  had  breakfast  already  ? "  asked  Tom. 

"  O  yes,  of  course,"  said  Rose,  with  a  merry  laugh,  "  sev- 
eral hours  ago.  But  never  mind.  You  will  soon  grow  ac- 
customed to  country  hours,  and  rise  with  the  earliest." 

Tom  ate  his  breakfast  with  a  good  appetite,  and  then 
went  out  under  the  Elm  to  see  what  his  cousin  Hal  was 
doing. 

Hal  was  sitting  on  a  large  flat  rock,  and  seemed  to  be 
very  busy  over  something,  but  he  looked  up  as  Tom  ap- 
proached. 

" Come  and  help  me,  Tom,"  said  he ;  "I  caught  my  net 
in  the  bushes  yesterday,  and  am  trying  to  mend  it." 

"  Your  net,  Hal !     Are  you  going  fishing  ? " 

"  O  no,  not  to-day.  Besides,  do  you  suppose  I  could 
catch  fish  with  this  gauzy  thing?  You  will  learn  better 
than  that  b.efore  you  have  been  here  many  weeks." 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  it,  then  ? " 


4  THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

"  Well,  you  see,  our  class  in  school  are  just  commencing 
the  study  of  Lepidoptera,  and  —  " 

"  Study  of  what  ?  "  interrupted  Tom. 

"  Why,  don't  you  know  ?  The  study  of  butterflies  and 
moths.  We  catch  specimens  and  take  them  to  our  school- 
teacher, who  tells  us  all  about  them." 

"  Why,  do  you  really  catch  them  in  nets  ? " 

"  Yes.  I  was  out  hunting  all  day  yesterday ;  but  I 
had  n't  any  luck  at  all,  though  I  chased  a  dozen  all  over 
the  fields.  You  see  we  have  to  begin  hunting  early  in 
the  season,  because  the  various  kinds  of  butterflies  appear 
in  different  months,  and  it  's  already  time  for  the  earliest 
to  be  creeping  out.  Those  which  come  latest  in  the 
Autumn  crawl  into  the  cracks  of  barns  and  sheds,  and 
sometimes  into  piles  of  wood,  and  live  there  through  the 
Winter,  and  it  is  to  hunt  for  these  that  I  am  going  out 
to-morrow." 

"What  do  you  do  with  the  butterflies  when  you  have 
caught  them  ?  "  asked  Tom. 

"  O,  you  '11  see.  Rose  will  make  you  a  net,  and  then 
you  can  go  hunting  with  me.  A*  few  tramps  over  the  moun- 
tain will  do  you  good.  As  you  look  now,  I  would  n't  give 
much  for  you  among  us  country  boys  at  any  sort  of  a  game." 

Tom  was  at  first  inclined  to  resent  this  uncomplimen- 
tary speech.  Though  of  slighter  form  than  Hal,  he  was 
already  quite  expert  in  gymnastic  games,  and  his  muscles 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  5 

were  firm  and  nervous.     But,  as  he  looked  at  his  stout  and 
sturdy  cousin,  he  thought  it  best  not  to  boast  too  loudly. 

Mending  the  torn  net  proved  to  be  too  nice  a  job  for 
Hal's  skill,  and  the  boys  went  into  the  house  to  ask  Rose's 
assistance. 

Of  course  Tom  must  have  a  net  too,  so  Hal  immedi- 
ately set  to  work  upon  the  frame.  He  took  a  common 
flat  barrel-hoop,  and  slit  off  a  strip  about  a  quarter  of  an 
inch  in  width.  Of  this  he  made  a  hoop  about  a  foot  in 
diameter,  which  he  bound  with  wire  to  a  light  hickory 
rod  of  the  thickness  of  a  parasol  handle  and  about  three 
feet  long.  When  he  had  completed  his  frame,  Rose  took 
a  circular  piece  of  mosquito-netting,  about  three  quarters 
of  a  yard  in  diameter,  and  bound  it  firmly  to  the  hoop, 
and  the  net  was  finished.  Butterfly  nets  can  be  bought 
ready  made  ;  but  any  boy  who  is  handy  with  his  knife 
can  make  his  own.  The  frame  sjiould  be  light  so  as  not 
to  fatigue  the  hand,  and  at  the  same  time  strong  enough 
to  endure  a  good  deal  of  rough  work  among  the  bushes. 
A  piece  of  ratan  from  an  old  umbrella  makes  a  good 
hoop  ;  and  nothing  is  better  for  the  handle  than  a  farmer's 
goad-stick  or  wooden  whip,  which  is  light,  strong,  and  not 
too  elastic.  Great  attention  should  be  paid  to  joining  the 
handle  to  the  hoop.  If  this  is  not  firmly  done,  the  frame 
may  come  in  two  when  you  are  in  hot  pursuit  of  butter- 
flies, and  if  you  have  not  with  you  the  means  of  repairing 
the  damage,  you  may  lose  your  whole  day's  sport. 


THE   BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE    FIRST    BUTTERFLY. 

early  Spring  morning  in  New  England 
possesses  a  sweet  charm  of  its  own,  un- 
equalled in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 
The  warm  rays  of  the  sun  melt  the  deep 
Winter  snows  and  send  merry  rivulets 
dancing  and  sparkling  down  every  hill- 
side. The  meadows  are  wet  and  soft, 

Jj_3V 

and  all  the  hollows  are  miniature  lakes, 
by  which  the  green  grass  already  shoots  up  in  tall,  slender 
spires.  Along  the  roadside,  and  under  the  old  stone  walls, 
the  dingy  snow-banks  waste  rapidly  away,  giving  place  to 
banks  of  emerald  turf  and  delicate  wayside  flowers. 

It  was  on  one  of  these  sweet  mornings  that  Hal,  with 
his  net  and  box  and  bottle  of  ether,  started  out  with  Tom 
to  hunt  for  the  first  Spring  butterfly,  the  Antiopa,  which, 
after  living  all  Winter  in  old  buildings  or  wood-piles,  creeps 
out  to  die  in  the  warm  April  sunshine. 

"Are  we  going  to  tramp  all  over  the  wet,  splashy 
meadows  ?  "  asked  Tom. 

"  O  no,"  answered  Hal,  "  not  to-day.  But  you  need  n't 
look  so  fearfully  at  the  wet  fields,  for  long  before  Summer 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  7 

is  over  I  shall  go  straight  through  mud  and  water,  and 
so  will  you.  To-day  we  will  only  hunt  round  the  barns 
and  woodshed,  although  Mr.  Benedict  says  the  Antiopa 
is  often  found  in  warm,  sunny  places  in  the  woods. 

"Who  is  Mr.  Benedict?" 

"He  is  our  teacher.  A  real  jolly  man  he  is,  too,  and 
all  the  boys  like  him.  But  why  did  n't  you  bring  out 
your  net  ? " 

"Rose  has  not  finished  it  yet.  I  shall  catch  about  as 
milch  with  the  net  in  her  work-basket  as  if  I  had  •  it  out 
here." 

"Don't  say  that,  Tom.  But  as  your  hands  are  empty, 
you  may  as  well  carry  my  box." 

"  You  don't  expect  to  fill  this  big  box  to-day,  do  you  ? " 

"The  box  will  hold  one,  if  I  have  the  luck  to  catch  it," 
said  Hal,  laughing.  "But,  you  see,  perhaps  we  shall  hunt 
for  nothing  all  day.  Butterfly-hunting  takes  just  as  much 
patience  and  skill  as  fishing,  only  it  is  more  active  sport." 

While  they  were  talking,  the  two  boys  walked  leisurely 
along  through  the  yard  back  of  Mr.  Merton's  house.  They 
climbed  over  the  bars,  and  went  down  the  lane  to  the 
barn. 

"  Hal,  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  this  ether  ? " 
asked  Tom.  "The  smell  makes  me  feel  just  as  if  I  was 
going  to  have  a  tooth  pulled." 

"I  am  going  to  serve  the  butterflies  just  as  the  dentist 


8  THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 

serves  you,"  replied  Hal.  "  Soon  as  I  catch  one  I  put  a 
drop  of  this  to  its  nose,  and  put  it  to  sleep  so  that  it 
will  feel  no  pain.  Then  I  fasten  it  with  a  pin  to  one  of 
those  pieces  of  cork  you  see  in  the  box.  I  put  the  butter- 
flies to  sleep  before  taking  them  from  the  net,  or  else  they 
would  flutter  and  struggle  so  as  to  destroy  all  the  delicate 
down  on  their  wings.  But  you  shall  see.  Come  along." 

The  noon  sun  had  spread  its  full  glory  of  warmth  and 
light  through  the  air,  and  the  boys  stepped  very  cautiously, 
for  Hal  said  they  might  find  a  butterfly  hovering  over  any 
of  the  old  logs  that  lay  scattered  about  in  the  grass. 

"Keep  a  little  behind  me,  Tom,"  said  Hal;  "for  the 
Antiopa  are  very  shy,  and  if  I  see  one  lighted  I  want  to 
throw  my  net  over  it  before  anything  starts  it.  This  kind 
fly  very  high,  and  it  is  n't  easy  to  chase  them." 

"Why,  Hal,  I  thought  you  had  just  begun  to  study 
Lepi —  What  do  you  call  it  ?  But  you  seem  to  know 
all  about  the  habits  of  the  butterflies  now." 

"Of  course  I  have  had  to  study  some  before  beginning 
to  catch  them,"  replied  Hal;  "and,  besides,  last  Autumn 
I  hunted  and  found  a  few,  but  I  was  awkward  then,  and 
tore  them  all  to  pieces  trying  to  arrange  them  on  the 
corks.  —  Stop  !  stop  !  There  's  one  lighted  on  that  old  log." 

Hal  stole  softly  along,  and  threw  his  net,  but  the  beau- 
tiful insect  floated  up  over  the  roof  of  the  barn,  and 
finally  lighted  far  above  Hal's  reach.  Hal  did  not  stop 


THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS.  9 

to  reply  to  Tom's  loud,  ringing  laugh,  but  went  on  quietly 
looking  for  more  butterflies,  turning  every  now  and  then 
to  see  whether  the  first  one  had  flown  from  the  roof.  It 
soon  darted  off  over  the  other  side  of  the  building,  and 
Hal  chased  after  it,  leaving  his  cousin  behind.  Very  soon 
Tom  heard  Hal  calling  for  the  box  and  ether. 

When  Tom  came  up,  Hal  had  gathered  the  net  up  into 
a  bunch,  confining  the  insect  in  a  small  space.  He  was 
holding  it  very  carefully  to  keep  it  quiet,  until  he  could 
put  it  to  sleep  with  a  drop  of  ether.  Tom  held  the  bottle, 
while  Hal  with  a  delicate  brush  dropped  a  little  ether  on 
the  butterfly's  head.  The  insect  soon  ceased  moving,  and 
Hal  then  fastened  it  by  means  of  a  long,  slender  pin  to 
one  of  the  corks  in  his  box,  and  spread  out  its  wings  so 
as  to  show  all  the  beauty  and  variety  of  the  colors. 

"You  punch  it  with  your  ugly  pin  as  if  it  was  dead 
instead  of  asleep,"  said  Tom. 

"  Yes,  I  know  I  do ;  and  perhaps  it  is  dead,"  replied  Hal, 
all  the  while  busily  arranging  the  wings  before  they  grew 
stiff  and  brittle.  "Sometimes  they  wake  up,"  he  continued, 
"and  then  I  have  to  give  them  another  dose  of  ether." 

It  was  now  nearly  time  for  dinner,  and  the  boys  turned 
to  go  into  the  house.  In  the  yard  Hal  succeeded  in 
catching  two  more  butterflies  of  the  same  kind. 

"Why  do  you  keep  so  many  just  alike?"  asked  Tom. 

"The  specimens  are  not  always  perfect,"  answered  Hal, 


IO  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

"and  then  we  want  a  pair  in  our  collection.  The  female 
is  always  larger  and  more  beautiful  in  color  than  the  male. 
Besides,  with  many  butterflies  the  under  side  is  quite  as 
interesting  to  examine  as  the  upper.  So  we  catch  all  we 
can,  and  afterwards  select  the  finest  specimens  to  keep." 

The  boys  stopped  to  show  their  specimens  to  Rose,  who 
was  waiting  for  them  in  the  doorway.  All  three  then  went 
in  to  dinner. 

In  the  evening  Hal  and  Tom  went  over  to  the  school- 
house,  where  they  .found  Mr.  Benedict,  the  teacher,  who 
was  a  great  favorite  with  the  boys,  sitting  in  one  of  the 
recitation-rooms.  About  twenty  boys  were  gathered  near 
him,  and  on  the  table  at  his  side  lay  several  large  books 
and  a  number  of  small  boxes.  The  boys  were  all  talking 
eagerly;  and  Frankie  Mason,  a  bright-eyed  little  fellow  of 
ten,  was  telling  the  teacher  how  hard  he  had  worked  all 
day  without  catching  a  single  butterfly,  when  the  door 
opened,  and  Hal  and  Tom,  with  Johnny  Webb,  came  in 
with  their  boxes,  and  laid  them  on  the  table.  The  boys 
then  took  their  seats,  and  Mr.  Benedict  commenced  as 
follows. 

"In  the  beginning  I  shall  make  our  study  as  simple 
as  possible,  and  leave  all  the  difficult  things  till  we  are 
better  able  to  understand  them.  We  will  study  the  but- 
terflies by  what  we  can  see  with  the  naked  eye,  because 
very  few  of  you  possess  microscopes." 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  II 

The  teacher  stopped  and  turned  to  his  table.  Each  boy 
had  brought  his  specimen  in  a  neat  paper  box,  on  which 
his  own  name  was  written,  so  that  Mr.  Benedict  might 
know  whose  butterfly  was  the  best  preserved.  He  smiled 
as  he  looked  at  some  of  them,  for  they  were  torn,  and 
the  down  on  the  wings  nearly  rubbed  off. 

"  That 's  mine,"  said  one  of  the  big  boys,  as  the  teacher 
laughingly  held  up  one  forlorn  insect,  of  which  little  was 
remaining  save  the  body  and  a  broken  piece  of  a  wing. 
"  I  brought  it  to  show  you  I  had  tried." 

"  Never  mind,  Gilbert,"  said  the  teacher,  "  to  catch  the 
butterfly  at  all  is  better  than  nothing.  Only  next  time 
you  must  handle  it  with  more  delicate  fingers." 

After  looking  over  all  that  had  been  brought  in,  the 
teacher  told  the  boys  that  he  should  make  the  Antiopa 
the  subject  of  this  lesson,  although  several  boys  had  found 
specimens  of  other  early  varieties.  The  Antiopa,  having 
lived  over  Winter,  was  properly  the  first  one  to  be  con- 
sidered. Hal's  specimens  were  very  well  arranged,  but 
Johnny  Webb  had  found  a  more  perfect  insect,  so  the 
teacher  selected  the  latter  specimen  to  show  to  the  boys. 

"The  Antiopa,"  said  he,  "belongs  to  the  genus  Vanessa, 
because  the  wings  are  jagged  or  tailed  on  the  hind  edge. 
The  wings  expand  from  three  to  three  and  a  half  inches." 
He  held  up  Johnny's  box  in  his  hand,  and  all  the  boys 
looked  eagerly  at  the  beautiful  insect  expanded  in  it. 


12 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 


"You  see  the  wings  are  of  a  purplish-brown  color,  with 
a  broad  buff-yellow  border.  Just  inside  the  border  is  a 
row  of  pale  blue  spots.  Even  this  fine  specimen,"  he 


The  Antiopa. 

continued,  "is  somewhat  faded,  as  these  butterflies  always 
are  in  the  Spring.  The  butterflies  of  this  brood  which 
are  flying  about  now  will  very  soon  die.  They  will  first 
deposit  their  eggs  on  the  Elm  and  Willow  trees,  where 
the  caterpillar  lives  after  it  is  hatched,  until  about  the 
first  of  July,  when  it  becomes  a  chrysalis.  The  butterfly 
breaks  the  chrysalis  in  about  two  weeks,  and  when  it 
first  creeps  out  and  spreads  its  fresh  wings  in  the  sun- 
shine, the  color  on  them  is  very  brilliant  and  rich  as 
velvet.  This  brood  of  Antiopa  is  very  short  lived.  It 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  13 

deposits  its  eggs  and  dies,  and  a  second  brood  of  cater- 
pillars is  hatched,  which  goes  through  all  the  changes, 
producing  the  butterfly  again  before  Winter.  In  the 
Autumn  you  will  find  these  butterflies  hovering  over 
the  heaps  of  apples  in  the  orchard,  and  that  will  be 
the  best  time  to  secure  them  for  your  collection." 


14  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

f 

CHAPTER    III. 

FLOWERS    AND    BUTTERFLIES.  , 

EVERAL  weeks  after  the  first  hunt  for  the 
Antiopa,  Tom  and  Hal,  together  with  Hal's 
cousin,  Johnny  Webb,  started  off  one  bright 
May  morning  to  hunt  for  the  small  yellow 
butterflies,  which  Mr.  Benedict  had  said  they 
would  find  flying  about  in  the  sunny  fields. 

It  was  yet  too  early  in  the  morning  for  butterflies  to 
be  out,  for  they  keep  very  quiet  until  the  sun  h&  dried 
the  dew  from  the  grass  and  flowers,  so  that  they  can  fly 
without  fear  of  injuring  their  delicate  wings.  But  the 
boys  had  started  off  early  to  have  a  hunt  for  flowers  and 
moss  for  Rose  to  arrange  in  her  vases.  They  crossed  the 
road  in  front  of  Mr.  Merton's  house,  and  climbed  over 
the  wall  into  the  pasture.  A  lot  of  sleek,  sober-looking 
cows  were  nipping  the  short  green  grass,  and  lifted  their 
noses  with  a  good-morning  sniff  as  the  boys  passed. 

"Let  's  walk  all  round  by  the  wall,"  said  Johnny,  "and 
when  we  get  to  the  farther  corner,  where  the  nut-trees 
are,  we  '11  climb  over  into  the  Birch-grove.  Early  Saxi- 
frage grows  there,  and  I  told  Rose  I  'd  bring  her  home 
a  bunch  of  it." 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  15. 

I 

"  Hallo,  there  's  our  Fort,"  said  Hal.  The  boys  stopped 
and  examined  with  great  interest  a  big  square  enclosed 
with  a  stone  wall,  which  it  had  taken  Hal  and  some  other 
village  boys  the  whole  of  a  last  Autumn's  holiday  to  build. 
The  Winter  frost  had  displaced  many  of  the  stones,  and 
one  side  was  quite-  thrown  down.  "All  open  to  the 
enemy,"  said  Hal,  as  he  walked  up  to  the  breach.  "Don't 
you  remember,"  he  added,  "  how  old  Farmer  Rogers,  in 
his  long  blue  frock,  chased  us  and  yelled  at  us  because 
we  stole  a  whole  heap  of  his  cider  apples  for  shot  and 
shell  ? " 

"Yes,"  said  Johnny,  soberly;  "and  father  was  so  sorry 
about  it,  that  he  sent  the  old  man  a  barrel  of  our  best 
Baldwins  in  return." 

"It  was  a  mean  trick  in  us  boys,  any  way,"  said  Hal. 

1  Only  see  the  Violets  and  Anemones,"  said  Johnny. 
The  boys  looked  down  under  the  Alders  by  the  wall, 
and  were  soon  on  their  knees,  plucking  handfuls  of  the 
delicate  Wind-flowers  and  Violets.  Before  they  reached 
the  nut-tree  corner,  they  had  gathered  great  bunches  of 
Dandelions,  Liverwort,  and  Wild  Geranium. 

"  Chip,  chip,  chip,"  said  Hal,  as  a  striped  squirrel  darted 
nimbly  past  them.  The  squirrels  had  a  whole  colony  of 
little  burrows  in  the  nut-tree  corner,  and  might  be  seen 
having  a  grand  frolic  there  any  warm  sunny  day. 

When  the  boys  reached  the  corner,  Tom    threw  himself 


1 6  THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

down  under  one  of  the  trees,  right  into  a  whole  bed  of 
blue  Liverwort,  and  began  to  arrange  the  flowers  he  had 
gathered.  Johnny  climbed  over  the  wall  into  the  Birch- 
grove,  after  Early  Saxifrage,  and  soon  came  back  with  his 
hands  full. 

The  boys  soon  gathered  so  many  flowers  that  they 
agreed  to  leave  them  under  the  nut-trees  while  they 
went  off  for  butterflies. 

"  Let  's  separate,"  said  Hal,  "  and  each  see  what  he  can 
do  alone.  Then  afterwards  we  will  all  meet-  here  again. 
Hallo,  there  goes  a  butterfly,  now," — and  saying  this,  off 
he  darted  after  it,  going  over  the  wall  and  up  the  side 
of  the  hill,  almost  as  fast  as  the  insect  he  was  chasing. 

Johnny  went  to  a  little  pool  of  water  and  dipped  some 
Birch  branches  in  it,  which  he  brought  carefully  back  and 
laid  over  the  flowers  to  keep  them  fresh  and  protect  them 
from  the  sun,  and  then  he  and  Tom  started  off  in  oppo- 
site directions. 

In  about  an  hour  the  boys  met  again  at  the  nut-tree 
corner. 

"Well,  Tom,  you  have  got  your  box  full,  of  course," 
said  Hal,  as  he  sat  down  on  the  grass  to  take  breath, 
and,  throwing  off  his  cap,  pushed  his  damp,  curly  hair 
back  from  his  forehead. 

"Now,  Hal,  you  are  too  bad.  You  know  I  never  tried 
before,"  said  Tom;  "but  I  have  done  as  well  as  Gilbert 
did,  any  way." 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  I/ 

He  opened  his  little  box  and  showed  Hal  and  Johnny 
a  poor  crushed  insect,  with  its  legs  and  antennae  all 
broken  off. 

"  Now  see  here,"  said  Hal,  "  I  Ve  caught  six." 

"Look  at  that  one,"  said  Johnny,  "with  a  beautiful 
shaded  border." 

"Yes,"  replied  Hal,  "that  is  a  female  butterfly.  Mr.. 
Benedict  described  it  to  me.  I  only  caught  one,  although 
I  chased  another  half-way  down  the  other  side  of  the  hill. 
Now,  Johnny,  show  us  your  boxful." 

Johnny  laughed,  and  put  his  box  away  in  his  pocket.. 
"  The  warm  sun  made  the  things  too  lively,"  said  he ;: 
"  I  had  a  hard  run,  and  threw  my  net  ever  so  many 
times,  but  the  butterflies  always  darted  off  into  the  air. 
And  all  the  while  I  could  see  you  off  on  the  hill,  down^ 
on  your  knees  and  boxing  them  up." 

The  boys  gathered  up  their  flowers  and  went  home. 
Johnny  gave  a  large  bunch  of  the  Saxifrage  to  Rose,, 
and  carried  the  rest  home  to  his  sister  Annie. 

In  the  evening  the  boys  all  met  again  at  the  school- 
room. Mr.  Benedict  was  much  gratified  to  find  the  boys- 
taking  so  much  interest  in  their  study,  and  he  praised 
them  for  the  number  of  specimens  they  had  brought,  and- 
for  the  careful  manner  in  which  most  of  them  had  beem 
prepared. 

"These  beautiful  yellow  butterflies,"  said  he,  "belong  to' 

2 


1 8  THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 

the  genus  Colias,  and  are  distinguished  by  the  following 
peculiarities  :  six  legs,  short  antennae  thickened  towards  the 
end,  and  —  " 

"  Antennas.  Do  you  mean  those  horns  ? "  interrupted 
little  Frank  Mason. 

The  teacher  encouraged  all  such  questions,  but  could 
not  help  laughing  at  Frank's  eager  manner. 

"  O  yes,  Frank,"  said  he,  "  those  are  what  I  mean,  and 
you  may  call  them  horns  if  you  choose.  There  is  time 
enough  for  a  little  boy  like  you  to  learn  the  proper  names. 
You  see,"  he  continued,  "that  the  horns  are  thicker  to- 
ward the  end.  The  color  of  the  wings  is  bright  yellow, 
with  a  black  border.  On  the  female  of  this  butterfly  this 
border  is  very  broad  on  the  fore  wings  and  beautifully 
shaded.  The  fore  wings  have  a  small  black  dot  near  the 
centre.  This  dot  is  just  alike  on  both  sides,  while  the 
round  orange-colored  spot  on  the  middle  of  the  upper  side 
of  the  hind  wings  is  replaced  on  the  under  side  by  a 
silvery  spot  with  a  rusty  looking  ring  round  it.  The  hind 
wings  are  rounded  and  have  a  smooth  edge,  and  near  the 
margin  on  the  under  side  are  three  delicate  dots. 

"The  male  of  this  butterfly  is  smaller  than  the  female, 
and  the  black  on  the  border  of  its  wings  is  more  dense  in 
color. 

"This  butterfly's  name  is  Colias  Philodice.  It  is  very 
fond  of  Clover,  and  often  deposits  its  eggs  upon  it." 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  19 

"  Does  it  live  all  Summer  ? "  asked  Gilbert.  "  I  remem- 
ber seeing  some  that  looked  just  like  it,  hovering  over 
father's  late  Clover  last  Autumn." 


Colias  Philodice. 

"No,"  replied  Mr.  Benedict,  "this  early  brood  will  all 
disappear,  and  about  the  first  of  August  another  brood 
will  come  out.  The  late  brood  is  much  more  numerous 
than  this  early  one.  These  butterflies  will  often  fly  in 
such  quantities  in  fields  where  the  late  Clover  is  in  bloom, 
that  you  could  not  throw  your  net  without  catching  three 
or  four  at  one  time.  Now,  boys,"  he  continued,  "there  is 
a  very  large  and  beautiful  butterfly  which  appears  about 
the  last  of  May,  and  when  you  are  out  hunting  specimens 
for  next  week's  lesson,  I  want  you  to  look  for  it.  It  is  of 
a  beautiful  lemon  yellow,  ornamented  with  black  stripes. 
This  butterfly  is  as  large  as  any  we  have.  You  must  look 
for  it  in  warm  and  sunny  places.  Very  few  butterflies  live 
in  the  woods,  and  those  that  do,  such  as  the  Hipparchians, 
come  much  later  in  the  season.  At  this  time  of  the  year 


2O  THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 

they  fly  about  in  the  open  fields  and  by  the  roadside. 
They  delight  to  hover  over  the  bushes  that  fringe  the  old 
stone  walls.  You  will  find  them  in  these  places  any  sunny 
afternoon." 

After  giving  them  these  directions,  Mr.  Benedict  dis- 
missed the  boys.  As  they  went  out  they  all  passed  up 
by  his  desk,  and  he  returned  each  boy  the  little  box  he 
had  brought  containing  specimens. 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  21 

CHAPTER    IV. 

A    RAINY    MORNING. 

T  was   a   sweet   moonlight    evening,   and    Tom 
and    Hal    walked    slowly    home    with    Johnny 
Webb.     Rose  was   spending   the   evening  with 
Annie,  and  the  boys  were  to  call  for  her  on 
their  way  home. 

Mr.  Webb's  house  was  a  large  farm-house,  standing  with 
its  gable  towards  the  road,  as  so  many  of  the  New 
England  farm-houses  were  built  long  ago.  The  boys 
opened  a  little  wooden  gate  and  walked  towards  the 
house  between  two  rows  of  Syringa  and  Lilac  bushes, 
until  they  reached  the  porch,  where  they  found  the  girls. 
Annie,  who  was  lame  from  the  effects  of  a  fall  received 
when  she  was  a  very  little  girl,  was  lying  on  a  lounge, 
which  Mrs.  Webb  had  drawn  to  the  door  for  her,  her 
sweet  pale  face  looking  lovely  and  quiet  as  the  moon 
shone  upon  it.  Rose  sat  upon  a  low  seat  by  her  side. 

"  Come,  Johnny,"  said  Annie,  "  tell  me  what  the  lesson 
was  about  to-night." 

"  O  Annie !  Mr.  Benedict  says  we  must  hunt  next  week 
for  the  biggest  butterfly  you  ever  saw." 

Annie  laughed  heartily  at  Johnny's  boyish  eagerness. 


22  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

"I  saw  some  of  those  great  yellow  butterflies  he  told 
about,  in  a  Museum  once,  under  a  glass,"  said  Tom ;  "  and 
I  thought  then  they  were  painted  instead  of  being  real 
butterflies." 

"I  Ve  often  seen  them  flying  about,"  said  Hal,  "and 
once  I  caught  a  big  one  in  my  cap,  but  he  was  broken 
all  to  pieces  and  I  threw  him  away." 

"Well,"  said  Johnny,  "now  Mr.  Benedict  has  taught  us 
how  to  use  nets,  I  think  I  can  catch  one  without  break- 
ing it." 

"Annie,  don't  you  feel  very  tired  sitting  still  here  all 
these  pleasant  Spring  days  ? "  asked  Tom. 

"  O  no,"  she  replied ;  "  I  can  look  out  of  the  window  and 
watch  mother  working  among  her  flowers ;  and  then  Johnny 
is  such  a  good  boy,  and  brings  me  in  mosses  and  wild- 
flowers  almost  every  day.  Only  I  do  long  sometimes  to 
be  out  in  the  woods  myself,  and  feel  the  soft  Pine  carpet 
under  my  feet  and  hear  the  roar  of  the  wind  in  the  tree- 
tops." 

"And  so  you  shall,  Annie,"  said  Hal.  "Some  warm 
day  I  will  carry  you  to  the  woods  myself." 

Then  the  boys  told  the  girls  that  after  a  while  they 
were  going  to  have  a  grand  picnic  in  the  grove  at  the 
Den  Rocks,  and  Mrs.  Webb  said  if  Annie  was  well  enough 
she  should  be  carried  to  the  grove  to  enjoy  it  with  them. 

It    was  now  time   to   go   home;   and    after  saying   good 


THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS.  23 

night  to  Annie  and  Johnny,  Rose  and  the  two  boys 
walked  up  the  hill  to  Mr.  Merton's  house. 

A  few  days  after  this  Hal  and  Tom  laid  a  grand  plan, 
that,  as  the  next  day  was  Saturday,  and  there  would  be 
no  school,  they  would  have  a  hunt  for  butterflies,  and  after- 
wards come  home  through  the  Rail  Swamp  to  get  some 
Rhodora  and  Shad-flowers  for  Annie.  But  Saturday  morn- 
ing dawned  and  the  boys  were  sorry  enough  to  find  a 
heavy  rain  pouring  down,  and  the  dismal  prospect  before 
them  of  spending  a  day  in-doors.  After  breakfast  they 
sat  down  and  tried  to  look  over  Hal's  book  on  butter- 
flies, to  see  if  they  could  find  out  anything  more  about 
the  big  yellow  one  they  were  going  to  hunt  for.  They 
read  a  little  while,  but  the  big  words  puzzled  them,  and, 
besides,  they  were  possessed  with  that  restlessness  peculiar 
to  boys  when  they  are  made  to  stay  in  the  house  against 
their  will.  Finally  Tom  threw  the  book  impatiently  on 
the  table. 

"  I  don't  know  one  word  I  Ve  been  reading,"  said  he. 

They  then  went  up  stairs  to  Hal's  little  room  and  began 
to  look  over  drawers  and  boxes  filled  with  sundry  old 
things,  precious  to  boys.  There  were  portions  of  old  clock- 
work, pieces  of  lead,  bits  of  tin  and  wire,  little  bundles 
of  nails  and  screws,  and  in  a  chest  that  stood  on  one  side 
of  the  room  was  a  very  neat  set  of  small  tools. 

In   one   corner  of  the  room   stood   an   unfinished  model 


24  THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 

of  a  saw-mill,  complete  in  all  its  parts,  with  the  exception 
of  the  great  wheel,  the  materials  for  which  were  lying  on 
the  workbench  under  the  window.  Tom  was  immediately 
interested  in  the  neat  workmanship  and  ingenuity  of  the 
model,  which  he  examined  with  the  greatest  attention.  In- 
side, everything  was  in  perfect  order,  and  ready  to  be  put 
in  motion,  and  Tom  proposed  that  they  should  spend  the 
rest  of  the  morning  in  finishing  the  wheel.  Hal  at  once 
agreed,  and  immediately  set  to  work.  The  model  was 
about  three  feet  in  length,  and  about  eighteen  inches  in 
height.  One  side  and  one  end  were  open.  The  other 
side  and  end  were  boarded  up,  and  the  roof  was  neatly 
covered  with  miniature  shingles.  The  great  wheel,  which 
was  to  be  on  the  side  which  was  boarded  up,  was  twelve 
inches  in  diameter.  It  was  constructed  on  the  "overshot" 
principle,  and  the  buckets  were  about  two  inches  in  width 
and  nearly  an  inch  in  depth.  The  separate  parts  were 
already  finished,  and  Hal  had  only  to  put  them  together 
with  neat  wooden  pegs.  While  at  work  he  explained  that 
he  had  built  a  splendid  mill-dam  on  the  Mountain  Stream, 
where  he  intended  to  set  his  mill.  The  foundation  was 
all  ready,  and  as  soon  as  the  wheel  was  finished  and  se- 
cured to  the  shaft  they  could  set  the  mill  in  its  place  and 
commence  sawing  miniature  pine  logs. 


THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS.  2$ 

CHAPTER    V. 

THE    HILL-PASTURE. 

|N  this  way  the  forenoon  passed  rapidly.  After 
dinner  Tom  went  to  the  window,  and  off  over 
the  barn  he  saw,  to  his  great  delight,  a  piece 
of  blue  sky  through  which  the  sun  very  soon 
shone,  while  the  clouds  all  broke  up  into  big 
white  groups  and  floated  out  of  sight. 

"Come,  Hal,  I  say,  let  's  be  off  in  a  hurry,"  said  Torn, 
as  he  hunted  round  for  his  cap  and  net. 

"  You  need  not  go  yet,  boys,"  said  Rose ;  "  for  the  butter- 
flies won't  come  out  until  the  sun  has  dried  the  grass  a 
little." 

Rose  had  taken  up  Hal's  book,  which  lay  on  the  table, 
and  was  turning  over  the  leaves  slowly  as  she  spoke. 

"See  here,"  said  she,  "in  describing  that  butterfly  you 
were  talking  about  this  morning,  this  book  says  that  it 
lives  round  the  apple-trees  and  leaves  its  eggs  on  them. 
I  wish  one  of  you  could  find  me  a  chrysalis.  I  would  keep 
it  for  you  in  a  warm,  dry  place,  until  the  butterfly  came 
out  of  it." 

"  O,  Annie  is  going  to  keep  all  the  chrysalids,"  said  Hal. 
"  Her  father  has  made  her  a  nice  box  with  a  glass  cover, 


26  THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

and  she  keeps  it  on  her  work-table.  Johnny  has  found 
some  for  her,  and  I  promised  to  carry  her  mine." 

"You  shall  carry  them  to  her,"  said  Rose.  "Annie  has 
to  sit  still  all  day,  and  it  will  amuse  her  to  watch  them." 

By  this  time  the  sun  was  shining  very  bright  and  warm, 
and  the  boys  started  off. 

With  their  nets  thrown  over  their  shoulders,  and  each 
one  carrying  his  specimen-box,  they  walked  up  the  little 
narrow  road  that  wound  by  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  It 
was  one  of  those  delicious  little  country  roads,  in  which 
there  is  a  beaten  track  for  each  wheel  and  one  in  the 
centre  trodden  by  the  horse's  feet,  and  between  the  tracks 
a  little  ridge  of  grass.  A  thick  hedge  of  Birches  and 
Alders  bordered  each  side  of  the  road,  broken  only  here 
and  there  to  give  room  to  an  old  moss-grown  pair  of  bars. 
The  boys  walked  along,  each  trying  to  balance  himself  on 
the  narrow  ridges  of  grass.  Tom  slipped  off  several  times, 
his  feet  going  plump  into  little  pools  of  water  which  had 
settled  in  the  wheel-track  after  the  rain.  Finally  they 
stopped,  and  leaned  on  an  old  pair  of  bars. 

"Tom,"  said  Hal,  "we  may  as  well  go  right  off  into  the 
fields.  In  this  road  the  trees  and  bushes  keep  it  so  damp 
that  the  butterflies  are  afraid  to  fly." 

So  they  jumped  over  the  bars,  and,  after  crossing  a 
broad  marshy  brook  on  some  stepping-stones  which  Hal 
had  placed  there  long  before,  they  ran  up  the  slope  of 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  2/ 

the  hill-pasture.  This  was  where  Mr.  Merton's  oxen  were 
turned  out  to  lie  in  the  grass  when  they  were  not  in 
use.  One  splendid  pair  were  lying  there  now,  and  they 
lifted  their  large  eyes  drowsily  as  the  boys  ran  past  them. 
Tom  was  in  hot  pursuit  of  a  great  butterfly  he  had  just 
started  up  from  a  bunch  of  Clover.  He  raced  over  to 
the  farther  side  of  the  pasture,  and  clearing  the  wall  at 
one  bound,  disappeared  on  the  other  side.  Soon  Hal  saw 
his  net  flying  along  far  up  the  road,  and  at  last  go  out 
of  sight  behind  a  big  cluster  of  Willows. 

Hal  himself  soon  found  several  of  the  butterflies  he  had 
come  out  to  hunt  for  hovering  round  the  margin  of  a 
shallow  poql  in  the  pasture  ;  and  after  creeping  about 
slyly  for  some  time,  he  succeeded  in  capturing  several 
fine  specimens.  He  gave  them  a  dose  of  ether,  and  then 
climbed  over  into  the  road  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
pasture  from  where  he  had  entered  it.  Then  he  sat  down 
on  a  big  stone  to  arrange  the  wings  of  his  butterflies  and 
to  wait  for  Tom's  reappearance. 

Before  long  Tom  came  back,  his  face  flushed  with  his 
long  race.  He  carried  his  little  box  very  carefully  in  his 
hand. 

"O  Hal!"  sa^d  he,  as  soon  as  he  came  near  enough  to 
speak,  "I  've  caught  a  splendid  fellow!  Look  here." 

He  opened  his  box  and  displayed  a  large  black  butterfly 
with  brilliant  dots  on  its  wings. 


28  THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

"I  never  saw  one  like  that,"  said  Hal.  "We  '11  carry 
it  to  Mr.  Benedict  to-night  and  ask  him  what  it  is." 

"  He  is  a  strong  old  butterfly,  any  way,"  said  Tom.  "  He 
struggled  hard  for  his  life.  I  could  n't  help  feeling  sorry 
for  him,  he  was  so  silent  about  it." 

"  I  know  it,  Tom ;  the  butterflies  can't  make  the  least 
noise,  no  matter  how  bad  we  treat  them.  I  caught  a 
Bumble-bee  by  mistake  the  other  day,  and  he  made  such 
a  fuss  with  his  wumble,  wnmble,  wnmble,  that  I  was  glad 
to  let  him  go." 

It  was  now  so  late  that  the  boys  agreed  to  go  for 
Annie's  flowers  some  other  time.  Hal  said  perhaps  Rose 
would  go  with  them,  and  then  they  would  all  visit  the 
old  cellar  hole  together. 

In  the  evening  Tom  and  Hal  took  their  specimens  and 
went  early  to  the  meeting  of  the  class. 

"Well,  boys,"  said  Mr.  Benedict,  as  he  rose  to  com- 
mence his  lecture,  "you  have  done  remarkably  well.  I 
shall  speak  to  you  this  evening  about  the  Papilio  Turnus. 
This  butterfly  takes  its  place  among  the  largest  we  find. 
Its  wings  expand  nearly  five  inches.  The  color  is,  as  you 
see,  a  brilliant  yellow  with  a  broad  border  of  black  dotted 
with  yellow,  on  the  edge  of  the  wings." 

Mr.  Benedict  held  up  the  box  containing  the  butterfly 
he  had  selected  as  the  best  specimen  for  the  evening, 
and  little  Frank  Mason  could  n't  help  exclaiming,  "O  Mr. 
Benedict!  that  's  my  butterfly!" 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  29 

"  I  see  it  is,  Frank,"  said  the  teacher ;  "  and  I  must 
praise  you  for  having  mounted  it  so  neatly." 

"But  my  papa  helped  me  catch  it,  and  he  fastened  it 
in  the  box  for  me,  too,"  said  Frank. 

All  the  boys  laughed  at  Frank's  open-heartedness. 


Papilio  Turnus. 

"The  fore  wings  of  this  butterfly,"  continued  Mr.  Bene- 
dict, "are  crossed  by  four  bands  of  black,  extending  back- 
wards from  the  front  edge.  On  each  hind  wing  is  an 
orange-colored  spot  and  at  the  back  a  little  tail. 

"This  beautiful  butterfly  is  usually  seen  flying  about  the 


go  ,  THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

apple  and  cherry  trees,  on  which  it  leaves  its  eggs.  You 
will  often  find  the  chrysalis  on  these  trees.  It  remains 
there  through  the  Winter,  and  the  butterfly  does  not  leave 
it  until  the  last  of  May  or  first  of  June.  The  Papilio 
Turnus  flies  very  high,  but  it  often  descends  and  hovers 
about  small  pools  of  water  after  a  shower.  Some  seasons 


Papilio  Asterias. 

it  is  very  common,  and  may  be  found  in  great  numbers 
in  any  orchard  or  pasture  where  old  apple-trees  are  stand- 
ing. Almost  all  the  large  varieties  of  butterflies  vary  in 
numbers  in  different  years.  Some  years  they  disappear 
almost  entirely,  and  the  following  Spring  they  will  per- 
haps come  out  more  abundant  than  ever. 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  31 

"For  our  next  lesson  I  will  tell  you  about  this  butterfly 
of  which  Tom  Stewart  has  brought  in  one  specimen.  It 
is  very  handsomely  arranged,"  said  he,  as  he  turned  with 
an  approving  smile  to  where  Tom  sat.  Tom  Stewart's 
face  glowed  with  pleasure,  and  he  felt  more  than  paid  for 
his  hard  chase. 

"  This  butterfly,"  continued  the  teacher,  "  is  called  Pa- 
pilio  Asterias.  I  want  you  all  to  go  home  and  take  your 
book  and  see  what  you  can  learn  about  it.  Next  Wednes- 
day we  will  meet  here  again,  and  each  one  shall  tell 
me  what  he  has  been  able  to  learn  alone  by  himself. 
We  shall  meet  twice  a  week  after  this  evening,  because 
at  this  season  the  different  kinds  of  butterflies  are  coming 
-out  very  fast." 


32  THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE    OLD    CELLAR    HOLE. 

NE  pleasant  afternoon  before  the  next  meet- 
ing of  the  butterfly  class,  Hal  and  Tom 
persuaded  Rose  to  go  with  them,  after 
school  hours,  for  a  long  walk  about  the 
pastures. 

Rose  had  prepared  a  little  basket  of  luncheon  to  eat 
out  under  the  White  Pine,  and  they  were  all  ready  to 
start  when  Hal  came  home.  They  looked  just  like  a  pic- 
nic party  as  they  went  off  down  the  lane.  Hal  carried 
the  basket,  which  was  pretty  heavy,  and  Rose  carried  his 
net  for  him.  Tom  had  his  net  too. 

They  walked  fast  across  the  open  field,  but-  when  they 
.came  to  the  bushes  they  had  to  step  carefully  on  the 
little  tufts  of  moss  and  dried  grass,  as  the  ground  between 
them  was  damp  and  soft,  and  here  and  there  they  came 
to  little  pools  of  water,  which  they  either  had  to  cross 
with  a  jump  or  go  around. 

"Father  calls  all  these  pastur.es  the  Rail  Swamp,"  said 
Hal.  "It  is  never  so  dry  here  that  the  cattle  cannot  find 
water  enough  to  drink." 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  33 

"I  don't  see  why  we  are  coming  among  these  bushes," 
said  Tom.  "  I  've  caught  my  net  and  torn  it  already." 

"Why,  we  are  coming  for  Rhodora,"  said  Rose.  "It 
grows  along  by  the  wall  just  the  other  side  of  the  thicket. 
But  you  would  better  carry  back  your  net  and  leave  it 
on  the  grass.  I  wish  you  would  take  Hal's  too,  for  I 
need  both  hands  to  gather  flowers  with." 

Tom  took  the  nets  and  went  back  with  them.  When* 
he  returned,  Hal  and  Rose  had  disappeared  in  the  thicket ;: 
but  he  could  hear  their  voices  calling  him,  and  he  soon1 
found  them  by  the  side  of  an  old  moss-grown,  tumbling; 
wall.  By  its  side  stretched  a  long,  dark  pool  of  water,, 
in  which  the  wall  and  bushes  and  trees  were  clearly  re- 
flected, and  along  whose  margin  grew  the  Rhodora.  The 
beautiful  plant  was  in  full  blossom  ;  some  of  the  pretty 
purple  petals  had  fallen  off  and  were  floating  slowly  about: 
on  the  surface  of  the  water.  The  children  gathered  a 
large  bunch,  and  then  sat  down  on  a  great  bed  of  moss 
to  rest,  before  going  back  for  their  nets.  Rose  gathered 
some  of  the  moss  and  amused  herself  by  placing  in  it- 
such  flowers  as  she  found  growing  there.  There  was-; 
Solomon's  Seal  and  Wild  Geranium,  and  under  a  large; 
Alder-bush  Tom  found  a  whole  bed  of  Nodding  Trillium^, 
or  Wake  Robin.  When  they  had  gathered  all  they  couldi 
carry,  they  went  back  to  the  place  where  they  had-  left* 
their  nets. 

3 


34  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

By  this  time  Hal  felt  hungry,  so  Rose  said  they  would 
eat  their  luncheon  before  visiting  the  old  cellar  hole.  To 
reach  the  White  Pine  they  had  to  walk  along  by  the 
wall  in  the  cow-path  till  they  came  to  a  clump  of  Pine- 
trees.  In  the  centre  of  this  clump  stood  the  White  Pine. 
This  tree  was  the  largest  of  the  group.  Under  its  wide- 
spreading  branches  was  an  open  space  covered  with  a 
soft  Pine  carpet.  The  other  Pine-trees  grew  all  around 
so  as  to  shut  it  in  entirely,  making  a  pleasant  bower, 
where  the  children  often  came  on  hot  Summer  days. 
On  one  side  Hal  had  trimmed  the  branches  so  as  to 
make  a  little  arched  entrance.  They  all  sat  down  under 
the  free,  and  Rose  spread  out  the  contents  of  her  basket. 
Tom  thought  he  had  never  eaten  anything  so  nice  as  the 
thin  slices  of  bread  and  butter,  and  apple-pie  and  Dutch 
cheese.  When  they  had  eaten  their  luncheon,  they  laid 
their  moss  and  all  the  small  flowers  in  the  basket,  and 
then  strolled  off  in  the  direction  of  the  old  cellar  hole. 

As   they  walked    along,    Rose    told   Tom  all    she    knew 

i 
about   the   cellar  hole.      There   had    been    no    house    there 

for  a  great  many  years.  Almost  one  hundred  years  ago, 
when  the  house  was  new  and  when  the  little  narrow  lane 
upon  which  it  stood  was  one  of  the  travelled  country 
roads,  a  young  sister  of  General  Israel  Putnam  was 
brought  home  to  it,  a  bride.  Here  she  lived  for  many 
years  and  had  a  large  number  of  children,  both  girls 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  35 

and  boys.  No  doubt  there  was  many  a  jolly  wedding  in 
the  house,  as  the  daughters,  one  by  one,  passed  away  to 
other  homes.  There  was  sadness  there  too,  for  in  an  old 
briery  cemetery  near  by  there  is  a  gray,  moss-covered  stone, 

"Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Mary  F n,  who  departed 

this  life  June  ye  21,  17 — .  Aged  15  years."  After  this 
family  were  all  scattered  or  dead,  the  house  fell  into  decay, 
and  finally  one  stormy  Winter  night  it  was  blown  down. 

"  Old  Goody  Wood  told  me  all  this,"  said  Rose  ;  "  and 
when  I  go  to  the  cellar  hole  I  always  sit  down  and  try 
to  fancy  the  children  playing  on  the  green  and  the  good 
mother  spinning  at  the  sunny  open  door." 

By  this  time  they  had  reached  the  bars  at  the  entrance 
of  the  lane.  They  climbed  over,  and  walked  a  long  way 
through  a  shady  little  road,  where  the  Birches  and  young 
Maples  brushed  them  with  their  branches.  After  a  while 
they  came  to  a  bend  in  the  road,  and,  turning  it,  found 
themselves  in  an  open,  grassy  space.  Here  was  the  cellar 
hole.  It  was  not  very  deep,  and  was  all  overgrown  with 
luxuriant  grass.  The  bricks  from  the  chimney  and  some 
of  the  stones  from  the  cellar  wall  were  tumbled  here  and 
there  in  heaps.  At  the  side  nearest  the  road  lay  the  large, 
flat  door-stone. 

"  I  can  imagine  old  General  Putnam  sitting  here,"  said 
Rose,  "  telling  stories  to  all  his  nephews  and  nieces  about 
the  strange  scenes  he  had  passed  through." 


36  THE   BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

Off  at  one  side  of  the  cellar  hole  was  the  place  where 
the  well  used  to  be.  It  was  all  filled  up,  and  a  few 
stones  were  heaped  on  the  top.  Some  blackberry-vines, 
covered  with  white  blossoms,  were  running  over  them. 
Farther  back  was  a  small  place  sunken  in  the  ground, 
where  Hal  said  the  barn  must  have  stood.  On  one  side 
of  the  door-stone  grew  a  large  clump  of  Lilac-bushes. 
There  were  a  few  blossoms  on  them,  which  Rose  gathered 
to  carry  home.  It  was  very  still  there.  The  only  things 
in  motion  were  a  few  birds,  which  hopped  about  and 
twittered  on  the  branches  of  some  scraggy  apple-trees. 

Rose  sat  down  on  the  old  door-stone,  while  the  boys 
hunted  about  for  butterflies.  They  found  some  little  red 
and  brown  ones,  which  Hal  said  were  sometimes  very 
plenty.  He  had  seen  whole  swarms  of  them  flying  by 
the  roadside,  but  he  did  n't  know  their  name.  They 
hunted  about  until  Rose  called  them  and  said  they  had 
only  time  to  reach  home  before  sunset. 

On  the  way  back  they  found  large  bushes  of  Shad- 
flower  in  blossom,  and  the  boys  carried  home  handfuls 
of  the  delicate  white  flowers. 

After  tea  Rose  arranged  all  the  flowers  in  two  large 
bunches,  and  Hal  carried  one  of  them  to  Annie. 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  37 

CHAPTER    VII. 

BUTTERFLY    TALK. 

*HEN  the  class  met^again,  Mr.  Benedict  asked 
the  boys  to  tell  him,  as  well  as  they  could, 
what  they  had  been  able  to  learn  about  the 
Papilio  Asterias. 

They  were  all  very  shy  about  speaking. 
At  last  Gilbert  said,  "Mr.  Benedict,  thxere  were  two  de- 
scribed in  my  book  almost  alike,  and  I  don't  see  how  we 
are  to  know  them  apart:" 

"They  are  very  much  alike,  it  is  true,"  said  the  teacher. 
"The  other  one  is  the  Papilio  Troilus." 

"The  only  difference  I  can  find,"  said  Gilbert,  "is  that 
the  spot  which  is  blue  on  the  wing  of  the  Asterias  butter- 
fly is  greenish  on  the  Troilus." 

"I  think,  Sir,"  said  Hal,  "that  these  butterflies  differ  in 
the  caterpillar  instead  of  the  butterfly." 

"The  caterpillar!"  said  little  Frank  Mason.  "What 
do  you  mea^  by  the  caterpillar  ? "  . 

"My  dear  Frank,"  said  the  teacher,  "the  caterpillar^ is 
the  baby  of  the  butterfly.  It  is  hatched  from  the  butter- 
fly's eggs,  and  feeds  about  on  various  plants,  according  to 
its  kind,  until  it  is  full  grown.  Then  it  changes  to  a 


38  THE   BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

chrysalis,  from  which,  in  proper  time,  the  butterfly  comes 
forth.  Can  any  one  tell  me,"  he  added,  "what  the  differ- 
ence is  between  the  caterpillars  ? " 

"I  can,  Sir,"  said  Ben  Wait,  a  rosy,  bright-eyed  boy 
who  sat  in  the  back  part  of  the  room.  "The  caterpillar 
of  the  Asterias  is  what,  we  call  a  Parsley-worm.  It  is 
green  and  black.  I  have  often  caught  it  creeping  round 
on  Parsley  and  Caraway  in  our  garden.  The  Troilus  cat- 
erpillar I  have  never  seen,  but  my  book  says  it  lives  on 
Sassafras-trees,  and  changes  its  color  four  times." 

"  That  is  all  correct,"  said  the  teacher.  "  The  cater- 
pillar of  the  Troilus,  like  many  other  caterpillars,  sheds 
its  skin,  and  takes  one  of  a  new  color,  every  week  of  its 
life. 

"  But  we  "will  not  talk  any  more  about  caterpillars  now. 
Some  evening,  when  we  have  not  so  many  specimens,  I 
will  tell  you  more  about  caterpillars  and  chrysalids. 

"  Now  ,we  will  examine  this  fine  specimen  of  Papilio 
Asterias.  It  belongs  to  the  same  species  as  the  Turnus 
butterfly,  described  in  our  last  lesson.  Its  wings  expand 
nearly  four  inches.  Its  body  is  black,  with  two  rows  of 
yellow  dots  on  the  back.  The  wings  are  also  black,  with 
a -broad  band  of  yellow  spots  extending  from  the  front 
edge  of  the  fore  wing  to  the  back  part  of  the  hind  wing, 
and  a  row  of  yellow  spots  on  the  margin.  The  hind 
wings  are  tailed,  and  between  the  band  of  yellow  and 


THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS.  39 

the  row  of  yellow  spots  on  the  margin  are  seven  blue 
spots.  By  the  side  of  the  blue  spot  at  the  hind  angle 
is  an  orange  spot,  with  a  black  dot  in  the  centre.  All  » 
the  spots  on  the  under  side  are  dull  orange.  The  female 
Papilio  Asterias  has  but  one  row  of  yellow  dots  on  the 
front  wings. 

"This  kind  of  butterfly  is  most  numerous  during  the 
month  of  July.  You  will  often  find  it  in  your  gardens, 
hovering  over  beds  of  Parsley  and  sweet-scented  Phlox. 
It  deposits  its  eggs  on  these  plants,  and  it  is  there  that 
the  caterpillar  we  have  already  spoken  about  feeds.  It 
often  does  much  mischief  by  eating  the  leaves  of  Parsley 
and  Carrots. 

"As  the  Troilus  butterfly  resembles  the  Asterias  so 
closely  while  in  the  winged  state,  I  will  describe  it  to 
you  now.  It  appears  about  the  middle  of  June.  This 
kind  is  never  very  numerous,  but  perhaps  some  of  you 
will  be  so  fortunate  as  to  find  a  specimen.  The  Papilio 
Troilus  has  but  one  row  of  yellow  dots,  and  that  is  on 
the  margin  of  both  the  fore  and  hind  wings.  The  green 
on  the  hind  wings  is  shaded  into  the  tint  of  the  wing, 
instead  of  being  in  distinct  spots  like  the  blue  in  the 
Asterias,  and  the  orange  spot  has  no  black  dot  in  the 
centre.  The  difference  between  these  two  butterflies  is 
so  slight  that  it  is  impossible  to  distinguish  one  from  the 
other  when  they  are  on  the  wing." 


4<D  THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 

Some   of  the  boys   had  brought  in   specimens  of  small 
butterflies.     Hal  had  brought  those  he  caught  flying  round 
•   the   old   cellar   hole,   and   when    he    first    came    in   he   had 
laid  them  on  Mr.  Benedict's  table. 

After  finishing  his  lecture  on  the  Asterias  and  Troilus, 
the  teacher  stood  looking  at  these  specimens.  "If  you 
choose  to  stay  beyond  the  usual  hour,"  said  he,  "I  will 
tell  you  about  a  few  of  these  small  butterflies."  All  the 
boys  held  up  their  hands  to  stay,  and  Mr.  Benedict  con- 
tinued his  lecture. 

"These  little  butterflies  may  be  found  almost  all  Sum- 
mer. They  hover  near  the  ground,  and  often  gather  in 
large  quantities  about  Clover  and  other  honey  plants. 
They  are  six-footed,  and  are  generally  classed  together 
under  the  name  of  Lycenians.  This  small  red  butterfly 
is  one  of  the  prettiest  of  the  group,"  said  the  teacher,  as 
he  held  up  a  box  containing  a  butterfly  whose  wings  ex- 
panded about  one  inch.  "  It  is  very  common,  and  you  will 
find  it  fluttering  over  the  grass  in  any  sunny  spot.  It  is 
called  Lycaena  Americana,  or  Amer- 
ican copper  butterfly.  The  fore 
wings  are  of  a  brownish-red  color, 
with  six  or  seven  black  spots.  The 

hind    margin    has    a   broad    rim    of 

Lycaena  Americana. 

dull    brown.      The    hind    wings    are 

blue  brown    and   have  a  few  small   black  dots.      They  are 
bordered  on  the  outer  margin  with  black. 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 


"This  other   specimen   is  called  Lycsena  Epixanthe.     In 
shape   and   size   it   is   similar  to   the   copper  butterfly,   but 
all  the  wings  are  of  a  dull  brown   color,  and   are   marked 
with  a  few  black  dots.     A  few  orange 
spots   ornament   the  margin   of   the 
hind  wings.      This  species  is  some- 
what rare.     It  is  usually  found  hov- 
ering over  damp  meadows  and   low 
lands,    and    it   does    not    delight    in 
flowers  so  much  as  in  green  grass  and  sunshine." 


Lycsena  Epixanthe. 


42  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

THE    RAIL    SWAM'P. 


NNIE  WEBB  was  sitting  one  morning  at 
k  the  door  of  her  father's  farm-house.  Her 
mother  had  arranged  the  easy-chair  in  the 
front  porch  so  that  she  could  sit  and 
listen  to  the  bees  humming  in  the  climbing 
rose  over  the  door,  while  her  nimble  ringers  twisted  the 
crotchet  needle  in  and  out  among  the  threads  of  the  shawl 
she  was  knitting  for  her  mother.  As  she  sat  working  she 
heard  the  click  of  the  gate-latch,  and  looking  up  saw  Tom 
Stewart  coming  up  the  path.  His  clothes  were  spattered 
with  mud,  and  his  butterfly  net,  torn  to  rags,  hung  over 
his  shoulder.  He  threw  the  big  bunch  of  flowers  he 
carried  down  on  the  path,  and  seated  himself  on  the 
steps  of  the  porch. 

"  Hal  had  gone  to  school,  and  the  morning  was  so 
pleasant,  I  thought  I  would  try  butterfly  hunting  alone," 
said  he,  laughing  and  holding  up  his  torn  net.  "  You  see 
what  I  have  caught." 

"Never  mind  the  net,  Tom,"  said  Annie.  "If  you  will 
go  in  and  ask  mother  for  a  new  piece  of  netting,  I  will 
cover  it  for  you  while  we  talk." 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  43 

Tom  went  in,  and  soon  returned  with  a  piece  of  pink  net- 
ting, and  Annie  cut  it  into  the  right  shape  for  the  hoop. 

"Now  tell  me,"  said  she,  "where  you  have  been." 

"Well,"  said  Tom,  "I  went  into  the  Rail  Swamp  and 
found  the  small  butterflies  thick  enough.  Just  as  I  was 
following  some  little  red  ones,  a  blue  speck  darted  past 
me,  and  I  gave  chase.  It  flew  over  the  wall,  and  I 
tumbled  over  after  it  Then  it  flew  back  to  the  Swamp 
again,  and  back  I  went  too.  The  perverse  thing  fluttered 
back  and  forth  until  I  had  knocked  the  skin  all  off  my 
knees  jumping  after  it." 

"Johnny  says  he  always  waits,"  said  Annie,  "until  he 
is  sure  the  butterfly  really  means  to  go  over  the  wall 
before  he  follows  it.  When  he  sees  it  fairly  start  off,  then 
he  is  after  it  in  a  hurry." 

"  I  '11  wait  next  time,  see  if  I  don't ! "  said  Tom. 

"  Did  you  catch  the  butterfly  after  all  ? "  asked  Annie. 

"  O  no.  It  suddenly  darted  off  over  the  swamp,  and  I 
after  it.  I  splashed  through  the  pool  where  the  Rhodora 
grows  and  tumbled  over  the  old  wall  into  the  next  pasture. 
The  butterfly  had  lighted  on  a  bush  and  sat  folding,  up 
its  beautiful  blue  wings  so  quietly  that  I  was  sure  of 
catching  it.  I  plunged  forward  among  the  low  bushes, 
when  suddenly  down  I  went  on  my  knees  in  a  ditch  half 
full  of  muddy  water.  A  branch  of  a  high  blueberry-bush 
went  through  my  net  and  pulled  it  out  of  my  hand,  and 


44  THE   BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

when  I  rubbed  the  mud  out  of  my  eyes  and  looked  round, 
the  butterfly  had  flown  away." 

•  "Then  you  gave  up  the  butterflies,  I  fancy,  and  gathered 
flowers,"  said  Annie.  "  I  did  not  know  the  Sweet  Vibur- 
num was  in  blossom." 

"  What  did  you  call  it,  Annie  ?  Do  you  mean  this  large 
branch  with  pinkish  white  flowers  ? "  asked  Tom. 

"No,  that  is  Azalea.  You  gathered  that  down  in  the 
Swamp.  This  Sweet  Viburnum  grows  round  the  stone 
walls." 

"They  are  both  very  pretty  flowers,"  said  Tom,  "and 
this  Azalea  smells  sweet  as  Honeysuckle." 

"Azalea  is  commonly  called  Swamp  Honeysuckle,"  said 
Annie,  "  and  I  think  it  is  the  sweetest  name.  It  makes 
one  think  of  the  cool,  damp  places  where  it  grows.  See 
how  the  flowers  are  crusted  over  with  honey-dew.  If  you 
handle  them  they  adhere  together,"  and  Annie  crushed  a 
few  of  the  blossoms  gently  in  her  hand. 

"  Honey-dew ! "  said  Tom  ;  "  it  should  be  called  honey 
glue  :  see  how  those  blossoms  stick  together !  The  flowers 
are  sweeter  than  the —  what  did  you  call  it,  Annie?" 

"Sweet  Viburnum,  Tom.  Yes,  I  think  the  Azalea  has 
the  sweetest  flower,  but  the  shrub  is  coarser  than  the  Vi- 
burnum." 

By  this  time  the  other  boys  came  from  school,  and  Tom 
went  home  with  Hal. 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  45 

At  the  next  class  meeting  the  boys  brought  a  large 
collection  of  small  butterflies,  and  Mr.  Benedict  said  he 
would  devote  the  evening  to  talking  about  them. 

"  I  like  the  big  butterflies  best,"  said  little  Frank ;  "  these 
little  things  are  no  prettier  than  wasps  and  bees." 

"  I  think  wasps  and  bees  are  pretty,"  said  the  teacher  ; 
"  and  perhaps  when  we  have  grown  tired  of  butterflies  I 
may  tell  you  something  about  them.  I  am  sure  you  would 
be  interested  to  hear  about  some  of  the  hanging  wasp's 
nests  with  neat  little  cells  inside,  or  the  little  mud-wasp 
who  fastens  his  tiny  cells  to  the  stems  of  various  plants." 

Frank  wanted  to  hear  about  these  curious  things  at 
once,  but  the  teacher  said  the  little  butterflies  were  just 
as  pretty,  and  he  should  save  the  insects  for  some  other 
time ;  so  he  went  on  with  his  lecture. 

"One  of  the  most  delicate  of  all  the  small  butterflies," 
said  he,  "is  the  Polyommatus  Pseudargiolus.  It  is  a  big 
name  for  such  a  wee  little  thing,"  said  the  teacher,  as  the 
boys  laughed,  "and  we  will  not  use  it.  Such  long  words 
do  not  harmonize  with  such  a  pretty  little  creature.  We 
will  call  it  the  Azure-blue  butterfly.  Its  wings  expand 
about  one  inch,  and  they  are  so  very  delicate  that  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  capture  one  without  injuring  it. 
Nothing  is  prettier  than  to  see  it  fluttering  over  flowers 
in  the  sunshine,  looking  like  a  tiny  speck  of  bright  blue 
satin.  The  margin  of  the  wings  is  of  a  blackish  tint 


46  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

or  a  deeper  blue.  The  wings  underneath  are  of  a  pearly- 
gray  color  dotted  with  black,  and  on  the  margin  is  the 
appearance  of  fine  lace-work.  Under  a  magnifying-glass 
it  presents  an  exquisite  appearance.  This  butterfly  is  not 
very  common.  Sometimes  I  have  seen  only  one  or  two 
during  the  whole  season.  It  loves  sunny,  warm  places, 
and  as  it  flies  low  and  is  not  very  shy,  it  is  easily  captured. 
It  comes  out  the  middle  of  June. 

"  The  Polyommatus  Lucia  butterfly 
resembles  the  Azure-blue  so  closely 
that  one  is  scarcely  distinguishable 
from  the  other.  The  former  is  a 
little  the  smaller,  and  of  a  more 

Polyommatus  Lucia. 

purplish  blue.     The  black  border  on 

the  fore  wings  is  not  quite  so  broad,  and  the  black  spots 
on  the  under  side  are  a  little  larger.  This  butterfly  may 
be  found  all  Summer,  hovering  over  the  low  bushes  in 
our  pastures.  It  is  not  very  common. 

"There  is  one  more  of  the  genus  Polyommatus  which 
you  can  easily  distinguish  from  those  I  have  already  de- 
scribed by  a  little  fine  tail  on  the  hind  wings.  The  wings 
are  violet  blue,  with  black  dots  on  the  hind  margin.  On 
the  hind  pair  near  the  edge  are  two  orange-colored  cres*- 
cents.  On  the  under  side  the  wings  are  gray,  marked  with 
black  dots,  and  the  two  orange-colored  spots  have  a  black 
centre  surrounded  with  a  blue  ring.  This  butterfly,  which 


THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS.  47 

is  called  the  Polyommatus  Comyntas,  expands  its  wings 
about  one  inch.  It  lives  in  dry  woods.  You  will  not  find 
it  before  July,  but  I  mention  it  now  because  it  belongs 
to  the  same  genus  as  the  two  you  have  brought  in." 

"  Mr.  Benedict,"  said  Frank,  "  I  'm  so  tired  of  all  these 
little  butterflies.  I  'd  rather  hear  about  the  mud-wasps." 

"In  the  next  lesson,  Frank,  I  will  tell  you  about  a 
beautiful  large  butterfly,  but  now  you  must  listen  patiently 
to  the  description  of  these  little  ones.  There  are  many 
small  butterflies,"  the  teacher  continued,  "belonging  to  the 
genus  Thecla.  Their  hind  wings  are  tailed,  and  there  are 
some  other  peculiarities  by  which  you  can  readily  distin- 
guish them.  If  you  are  interested  to  learn  more  about 
them,  you  will  find  a  full  description  in  your  book.  Their 
color  is  a  dull  brown  of  various  shades  marked  in  some 
of  the  varieties  with  specks  of  white  or  blue.  They  expand 
about  an  inch.  The  caterpillar  of  the  Thecla  is  often 
injurious  to  vegetation.  Hop-vines,  for  instance,  are  some- 
times entirely  ruined  by  that  of  the  Thecla  Humuli. 

"For  our  next  lesson  we  will  take  one  of  the  largest 
butterflies  that  is  seen  on  the  wing  during  the  Summer. 
It  is  not  very  common,  and,  as  I  doubt  very  much  whether 
you  will  find  one,  I  will  bring  a  specimen  from  my  own 
Cabinet." 

"Do  all  butterflies  belonging  to  the  genus  Thecla  have 
tailed  wings  ? "  asked  Hal. 


48  THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 

"No,"  replied  the  teacher,  "not  all.  On  a  few  of  them 
the  wings  are  notched.  Perhaps  you  would  think  them 
fringed,  but  you  will  soon  learn  the  difference.  You  will 
probably  find  some  of  the  Thecla  butterflies,  for  they  are 
quite  common,  and  fly  all  Summer.  There  is  one  thing 
more  by  which  you  may  distinguish  them  from  the  genus 
Polyommatus.  The  knobs  on  the  antennae  are  longer. 
The  caterpillars  are  different  in  several  points,  but  I  don't 
think  any  of  you  will  be  interested  in  the  study  of  cater- 
pillars at  present." 

"I  want  to  learn  about  them,  Mr.  Benedict,"  said  Gil- 
bert. "I  wish  you  would  give  us  that  lesson  you  promised 
about  the  caterpillars  and  chrysalids.  I  am  sometimes 
puzzled  when  you  refer  to  these  things." 

Almost  all  the  boys  joined  with  Gilbert  in  asking  Mr. 
Benedict  to  give  them  a  lesson  on  the  young  of  the  but- 
terfly. 

"Very  well,"  said  he,  "I  will  take  that  for  the  subject 
of  the  next  lesson,  and  leave  the  large  butterfly  I  told  you 
about  for  some  other  time." 


THE   BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  49 

CHAPTER    IX. 

CATERPILLARS  AND   CHRYSALIDS. 

HEN  Mr.  Benedict  met  the  class  again 
he  commenced  as  follows  :  — 

"No  insect  is  so  injurious  to  vege- 
tation as  the  caterpillar,  the  young  of 
the  butterfly  and  moth.  There  have 
been  many  hundred  varieties  of  these  caterpillars  discov- 
ered, but  at  present  it  is  necessary  for  you  to  know  about" 
a  very  few  of  them  only.  If  any  of  you,  by  this  small- 
beginning,  acquire  a  love  of  the  study,  you  will  find  books- 
and  teachers  to  instruct  you,  as  you  grow  older,  in  all  the 
details  of  the  science.  To-day  I  am  only  going  to  tell  you 
a  few  of  the  most  common  things  about  caterpillars  and 
chrysalids. 

The  butterfly  or  moth,  in  its  winged  state,  deposits  its- 
eggs  on  different  kinds  of  trees  and  plants.  Instinct  teaches. 
it  just  what  leaves  its  young  will  require  for  food ;  for  when 
the  caterpillar  first  leaves  the  egg  it  is  so  small  and  weakv 
that  it  is  necessary  that  food  should  be  supplied  at  once. 
As  soon  as  it  is  born  the  caterpillar  commences  eating; 
eagerly,  and  increases  in  size  very  rapidly.  It  almost 
always  remains  through  its  short  life  on  the  tree  or 
4 


5<D  THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

shrub  on  which  it  first  makes  its  appearance.  In  size 
and  color  caterpillars  differ  greatly  from  each  other.  They 
are  of  all  tints,  from  dull  gray  or  brown  to  the  most 
brilliant  combinations  of  green,  red,  and  yellow.  The  cat- 
erpillars of  the  moth  are  almost  always  larger  than  those 
of  our  common  butterflies,  some  of  them  measuring  three 
and  four  inches  in  length.  Many  species  are  covered  with 
warts  and  bristles,  and  present  a  very  ugly  appearance. 

"A  caterpillar  changes  its  skin  several  times,  each  time 
generally  assuming  a  coat  of  a  new  color.  Some  cater- 
pillars are  born  black,  and  after  appearing  in  dresses  of 
white,  red,  and  orange,  finally  end  their  existence  in  a 
delicate  coat  of  pea-green.  Before  each  change  the  cater- 
pillar leaves  off  eating  and  remains  motionless  a  certain 
length  of  time.  It  sometimes  suspends  itself  from  a  twig 
by  a  slight  web,  where  it  hangs  until  the  old  and  dry 
skin  crackles  open  along  the  back,  when  by  various  twist- 
ings  and  turnings  the  caterpillar  frees  itself  from  its  old 
coat,  and  crawls  off  to  commence  eating  again. 

"When  the  caterpillar  is  full  grown  and  ready  to  assume 
the  pupa  or  chrysalis  state,  it  seeks  out  a  place  of  conceal- 
ment and  fastens  itself  to  the  under  surface  of  some  object, 
where  it  usually  hangs  by  the  hind  legs.  The  skin  then 
parts  on  the  back  and  the  covering  of  the  chrysalis  is 
formed  by  the  drying  and  hardening  of  a  transparent  fluid 
immediately  under  the  skin.  The  insect  then  appears  as 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  51 

a  lifeless,  oblong  body  with  no  distinct  head  or  limbs. 
These  chrysalids  have  a  hard,  polished  outside,  and  are 
often  very  rich  in  color.  Some  are  green  or  yellow,  others 
rich  brown.  Some  caterpillars  of  the  moth  spin  themselves 
up  in  a  web  which  they  fasten  to  a  twig  or  the  under 
side  of  a  leaf,  and  within  this  web  form  a  cocoon.  Others 
go  into  the  ground,  and  there  pass  through  the  transfor- 
mation." 

"Could  n't  we  cate^h  the  caterpillars,  and  watch  the 
change  ? "  asked  Gilbert. 

"You  can  at  least  try,"  replied  the  teacher.  "I  have 
made  many  experiments  in  that  way,  and  some  have 
proved  successful.  Once,  about  midsummer,  I  captured 
some  hairy,  brown  caterpillars  and  placed  them  on  my 
writing-table  under  glasses.  Two  of  them  died,  but  the 
third  made  himself  very  much  'at  home,  and  went  to  work 
at  once  to  prepare  his  little  shroud.  He  nestled  down  on 
the  board  upon  which  the  glass  stood,  and  threw  up  a 
thin  web  which  completely  covered  him.  It  was  at  first 
so  very  thin  as  to  be  almost  invisible,  but  the  caterpillar 
thickened  it  by  degrees  until  at  last  he  was  visible  only 
as  a  tiny  dark  spot  in  the  centre. 

"As  a  general  thing  my  experiments  have  proved  most 
successful  when  the  caterpillars  have  been  placed  in  a  dark 
box.  I  remember  once  bringing  in  a  box  full  of  caterpil- 
lars of  various  kinds,  and  forgetting  all  about  them  for 


52  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

some  time.  When  I  at  last  opened  the  box  it  was  stuck 
all  over  with  tiny  chrysalids.  In  time  these  chrysalids  all 
burst  and  little  moths  of  different  sorts  came  out  of  them. 

"For  some  kinds  of  caterpillars  it  is  necessary  to  provide 
earth  in  which  they  can  bury  themselves.  I  once  brought 
in  two  small  caterpillars  from  the  grape-vine.  They  were 
shut  up  with  some  grape-vine  leaves,  but  on  opening  the 
box  in  a  few  days  I  found  them  both  dead.  Shortly  after- 
wards I  captured  three  more  of  the  same  kind.  These  I 
placed  in  a  box  containing  about  four  inches  of  earth. 
The  next  day  on  removing  the  cover  of  the  box  I  found 
the  caterpillars  had  all  disappeared.  After  waiting  seven 
or  eight  days  I  carefully  dug  up  the  earth.  There,  snugly 
stowed  away  under  the  surface,  were  three  neat  brown 
chrysalids. 

"You  will  meet  with  many  discouragements  in  trying 
these  experiments,  for  your  specimens  will  often  die.  Un- 
less the  caterpillar  is  just  on  the  point  of  transformation 
when  captured,  it  must  be  fed,  and  it  is  sometimes  im- 
possible, when  the  caterpillar  is  of  a  kind  whose  habits 
are  not  well  known,  to  satisfy  the  fastidious  taste  of  the 
little  creature. 

"The  pupa  state  is  the  second  period  of  the  butterfly's 
existence.  Its  duration  depends  much  on  external  circum- 
stances. If  the  change  in  the  caterpillar  takes  place  during 
hot  weather  the  butterfly  will  often  appear  in  two  or  three 


THE   BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  53 

weeks,  but  if  the  pupa  state  occurs  late  in  the  Autumn, 
the  chrysalis  will  remain  closed  until  the  following  Sum- 
mer. Sometimes  when  I  have  found  chrysalids  and  kept 
them  in  a  warm  room,  the  butterfly  has  appeared  in  the 
middle  of  Winter.  When  the  time  for  the  change  comes, 
the  chrysalis  swells  and  bursts,  and  from  out  of  the  dry 
husk  the  butterfly  creeps  forth  and  enters  upon  the  third 
and  last  period  of  its  existence.  At  first  its  wings  are 
damp  and  crumpled.  It  perches  on  its  old  home  until 
the  air  has  dried  and  strengthened  them,  and  then  flies 
away  to  enjoy  its  short  life  in  fluttering  about  from  flower 
to  flower. 

"I  don't  think  of  anything  more  I  can  say  that  would 
interest  you  at  present.  If  any  of  you  wish  to  study  the 
subject  more  carefully,  you  can  turn  to  your  books.  There 
you  will  find  many  interesting  details  about  the  color,  size, 
and  habits  of  the  caterpillars  of  different  butterflies,  and 
about  the  various  ways  in  which  they  become  chrysalids, 
assuming  the  appearance  of  utter  lifelessness,  while  retain- 
ing the  germ  of  life  within.  If  any  of  you  have  any 
questions  to  ask,"  said  the  teacher,  in  conclusion,  "  I  shall 
be  very  glad  to  answer  them." 

"I  should  like  to  know  if  the  butterflies  eat  leaves,  like 
the  caterpillars  ? "  asked  Frank,  who  had  amused  himself 
by  swinging  his  little  feet  back  and  forth  all  the  while 
the  teacher  had  been  talking. 


54  THE   BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

"O  no,  Frank.  The  butterfly  has  no  big  jaws  like  the 
caterpillar,  but  a  little  slender  tongue,  by  means  of  which 
it  sucks  up  honey  from  the  flowers.  It  never  does  any 
mischief. 

"I  'm  glad  of  that,"  said  Frank,  "for  I  love  the  butter- 
flies. The  old,  prickly  caterpillars  I  hate,  and  I  never 
thought  they  were  anything  but  just  caterpillars.  I  know 
little  birds  are  little  birds,  but  I  don't  see  how  caterpillars 
can  be  little  butterflies." 

"Well,  Frank,"  said  Mr.  Benedict,  "I  am  going  to  tell 
you  something  now  that  I  think  will  please  you.  The 
woods  are  very  pleasant  and  dry,  and  I  think  that  some 
day  next  week  we  will  have  our  picnic  at  the  Den  Rocks. 
I  am  going  to  invite  the  girls  belonging  to  the  Botany 
class  to  join  us  ;  and,  boys,"  he  continued,  "I  want  you 
to  arrange  with  your  sisters  about  carrying  some  baskets 
of  luncheon,  for  you  will  alt  be  hungry  after  a  good  frolic 
about  the  Rocks.  I  think  that  you  would  better  meet 
some  day  after  school  and  we  will  decide  about  all  the 
arrangements.  Next  Wednesday  will  be  a  good  day  to  go, 
because  then  we  shall  have  to  break  up  school  for  only 
half  of  the  day." 

Mr.  Benedict  dismissed  the  class,  and  as  the  boys  left 
the  school-room  they  formed  themselves  into  little  groups 
and  went  away,  all  talking  eagerly  about  the  picnic. 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 


55 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE    DEN    ROCKS. 

HE  next  day,  after  school,  Gilbert  called 
all  the  boys  and  girls  to  a  meeting  on 
the  green  in  front  of  the  school-house. 
Gilbert  was  older  than  the  other  boys, 
and   being   a    generous-hearted,   manly 
fellow,  was  their  acknowledged  leader. 
"May  I  come -to  the  meeting,  too?"  asked  little  Frank, 
as  he  came  out  of  the  school-house  with  his  satchel  on  his 
arm. 

"  O  yes,  Frank,  of  course  we  could  n't  do  anything  with- 
out you,"  said  Gilbert,  laughing. 

"There  is  one  thing  I  want  you  all  to  promise,"  said 
Frank,  very  soberly. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  said  all  the  boys  at  once,  for  Frank  was 
a  general  favorite. 

"I  will  tell  you.  I  want  you  all  to  promise  not  to 
catch  and  bring  in  any  of  those  horrid  young  butterflies 
that  the  teacher  told  us  about  last  night" 

All  the  boys  joined  in  a  laugh  at  this,  and  Gilbert  said, 
"No,  Frank,  we  will  not  throw  our  nets  for  a  single  one 
of  them." 


56  THE   BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

"But,  Frank,"  said  Johnny  Webb,  these  caterpillars  that 
you  dislike  so  much  are  not  young  butterflies  any  more 
than  eggs  are  young  turkeys." 

"  I  don't  believe  they  are,  either,  only  the  teacher  said 
they  were  the  young  of  the  butterfly,  and  I  don't  see  any 
other  young  butterflies ;  for  after  they  get  their  wings  they 
never  grow  any." 

"Mr.  Benedict  wants  us  all  to  meet  in  the  grove  at  the 
Den  Rocks  next  Wednesday  morning  at  eleven  o'clock," 
said  Gilbert,  "and  we  must  make  some  arrangement  about 
what  we  shall  take  for  our  lunch,  so  that  all  may  not  bring 
the  same  thing." 

"Yes,  we  must  have  everything  right  about  the  table," 
said  Ben  Wait ;  "  we  boys  shall  be  hungry  as  bears." 

"We  shall  not  want  any  table,"  said  Jennie  Graham. 
"It  will  be  nicer  to  spread  the  things  on  the  Rock  in 
the  shade  of  the  great  Oak-tree." 

"  O,  I  did  n't  mean  a  wooden  table,"  said  Ben.  "  The 
Rock  will  be  best  for  the  table  and  the  seats  too,  but 
the  cakes  and  sandwiches  are  what  I  was  thinking  about." 

"Now,  Ben,"  said  Rose  Merton,  "you  must  leave  all  that 
to  us  girls,  and  I  promise  that  you  won't  go  hungry." 
'  "Johnny,   will   Annie   be  well   enough   to  go  with  us?" 
asked  one  of  the  other  girls. 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Johnny.  "Annie's  foot  is  so  lame 
now  that  she  cannot  use  it  at  all.  But  mother  said,  if  it  was 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  57 

a  very  pleasant  day,  Annie  should  ride  to  the  grove  and 
see  us." 

"  I  '11  carry  father's  large  camp-chair  in  the  wagon,"  said 
Hal,  "and  we  can  stand  it  under  the  Oak  and  put  Annie 
in  it.  It  will  be  just  as  comfortable  as  her  lounge  at 
home." 

"I  don't  think  we  have  anything  more  to  do,"  said 
Gilbert.  "As  Rose  says,  it  will  be  best  to  leave  the 
preparation  of  the  baskets  to  the  girls,  while  we  boys 
will  visit  the  Rock  and  see  that  everything  there  is  in 
order." 

The  children  then  separated  and  went  home. 

After  what  seemed  a  long  time  to  the  impatient  young 
folks,  the  day  for  the  picnic  arrived.  To  their  great  de- 
light it  was  clear  and  sunny.  Early  in  the  morning  the 
boys  went  to  the  Rock  to  arrange  everything  in  nice 
order  before  it  was  time  for  the  girls  to  come. 

The  Den  Rocks  was  a  perfect  place  for  a  picnic.  It 
was  a  huge  granite  ledge,  full  of  rents  and  fissures.  On 
the  top  of  the  Rock  was  a  large,  grassy  space,  and  it  was 
here  the  Oak-tree  grew.  On  one  side  the  ground  sloped 
gently  into  a  grove  of  Birch  and  Maple,  while  on  the  other 
the  bare  rock  descended  about  fifty  feet,  forming  a  per- 
pendicular wall  for  one  side  of  the  open  grassy  ground  at 
its  base.  On  this  grassy  space  were  tumbled  large  pieces 
of  rock,  which  had  fallen  from  time  to  time  from  the  ledge 


58  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

above.  They  were  covered  with  brambles  and  Woodbine, 
and  spotted  with  brilliant  moss.  Near  the  Rock  on  one 
side  was  a  forest  of  large  White  Pine-trees,  and  a  little 
distance  off  was  a  spring  of  clear,  cool  water,  round  which 
had  been  built  a  wall  of  stones  from  the  ledge. 

There  was  an  opening  at  the  foot  of  the  Rock  which 
was  called  the  Den.  It  was  formed  by  a  large  piece  which 
had  fallen  down  and  lay  leaned  up  against  the  main  ledge. 
The  Den  was  large  enough  for  several  children  to  stand 
up  in,  and  sometimes  when  the  boys  were  there  alone, 
they  built  a  fire  in  it  and  roasted  corn.  There  were 
cracks  in  the  rock  above,  through  which  the  smoke  would 
curl  up,  and  the  boys  at  such  times  called  it  Robinson 
Crusoe's  oven. 

It  was  not  a  very  hard  matter  for  the  boys  to  prepare 
the  Rock  for  the  picnic.  They  cleared  away  all  the  rub- 
bish, dried  leaves,  dead  branches,  and  other  things  which 
had  collected  on  the  top  of  the  Rock,  and  then  brought 
some  branches  of  Maple  and  Poplar  from  the  woods.  With 
these  they  made  a  very  pretty  green  arbor,  in  which  they 
placed  the  chair  for  Annie.  Here  she  could  sit  and  watch 
the  frolics  of  her  young  friends.  It  was  a  rude  arbor,  but 
when  the  boys  finished  their  work  and  looked  at  it,  they 
thought  it  was  nice  enough  for  a  Princess. 

"Maggie  came  last  night,"  said  Tom  to  Johnny,  as  the 
boys  sat  together  resting  after  their  work.  "  Rose  wrote 
for  her  to  come  to  the  picnic,  you  know." 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  59 

"  How  glad  Annie  will  be  to  see  her,"  said  Johnny. 
"She  always  encourages  Annie  by  telling  her  that  some 
day  her  foot  will  be  well,  so  that  she  can  walk." 

Maggie  was  Tom's  sister.  She  was  several  years  older 
than  he  was.  The  year  before,  she  had  visited  her  cousin 
Rose,  and  had  become  a  general  favorite  with  all  the 
young  folks  in  the  village. 

By  and  by  girls'  voices  were  heard,  and  soon  the  boys 
saw  Rose  and  Maggie  standing  at  the  foot  of  the  steep 
path  which  wound  up  on  one  side  of  the  Rock.  On  the 
other  side,  the  Rock  could  be  reached  by  a  carriage  path, 
but  the  children  almost  always  chose  the  steep  way. 
They  liked  the  fun  of  climbing  up  on  the  roots  and 
clinging  to  the  branches  to  keep  from  sliding  back.  Rose 
and  Maggie  carried  little  baskets,  and  Johnny  and  Hal 
swung  themselves  down  the  path  to  bring  them  up.  The 
girls  followed,  and  soon  they  were  all  on  the  top  of  the 
Rock. 

"How  pretty  it  is  here,"  said  Maggie.  "Rose,  let  us 
imagine  ourselves  Fairy  Queens,  and  these  boys  here  shall 
be  our  imps  in  waiting." 

The  boys  took  off  their  caps  and  freely  offered  them- 
selves as  humble  slaves. 

Pretty  soon  the  other  girls  came  trooping  to  the  summit 
of  the  Rock.  They  all  brought  little  baskets,  which  Gilbert 
received  and  placed  together  under  a  clump  of  Poplars. 


6O  THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

Before  long  the  sound  of  wheels  was  heard,  and  Annie's 
father  soon  stopped  his  carriage  just  off  from  the  Rock. 
He  lifted  Annie  out  very  carefully,  and  brought  her  to 
the  chair.  The  boys  carried  her  shawls  and  the  cricket 
for  her  foot,  and  she  was  soon  comfortably  seated. 

"Now,  darling  Annie,"  said  Maggie,  coming  forward, 
"I  'm  so  glad  to  see  you." 

"  O  Maggie,  have  you  come  at  last  ? "  said  Annie,  her 
pale,  pretty  face  beaming  with  pleasure.  Then  turning  to 
all  the  young  folks  standing  round,  she  added :  "  How  very 
kind  it  was  of  you  all  to  want  me  with  you  to-day.  This 
sweet  forest  air  makes  me  feel  almost  well.  Sometimes 
this  last  Winter  I  have  thought  I  should  never  live  to  see 
the  woods  again." 

"  Nonsense,  Annie ! "  said  Maggie.  "  I  believe  that  some 
time  you  will  be  as  well  as  any  of  us." 

"Let  us  choose  Annie  for  the  Queen  of  the  day,"  said 
Gilbert. 

"O  yes!"  cried  all  the  children,  "Annie  shall  be  Queen. 
Long  live  Queen  Annie ! " 

Rose  stepped  forward  and  laid  a  crown  of  Oak-leaves 
on  Annie's  head. 

'  "  Now,"  said  Annie,  "  I  will  name  my  attendant  sprites. 
Here  Ariel,  Cobweb,  Silver  Star,  Lightfoot,  Morning  Dew-^— " 

"What  am  I?"  said  little  Frank. 

"  You  are  Puck,  of  course,  you  little  mischief.      Go,  see 


THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS.  6 1 

how  many  flowers  you  can  crush  with  your  tiny  foot,  or 
how  many  poor  butterflies  you  can  worry  out  of  life ;  only, 
if  you  should  happen  to  find  a  big  one,  don't  ride  off 
upon  it,  and  leave  us  forlorn." 

Frank  fairly  turned  a  somerset  with  delight,  and  scam- 
pered off  among  the  Birches.  All  the  others  soon  followed 
him,  the  boys  carrying  butterfly-nets  and  the  girls  little 
tin  boxes  and  baskets  for  flowers.  Maggie  remained  with 
Annie,  and  when  all  the  rest  were  gone,  she  sat  down  on 
the  grass,  and  the  two  girls  talked  over  all  that  had 
happened  since  they  parted.  Maggie  mentioned  Annie's 
lameness.  "  I  do  believe,"  said  she,  "  that  if  Dr.  Grey 
could  see  you,  he  would  be  able  to  cure  you.  He  has 
done  so  many  wonderful  things  of  that  kind." 

"I  am  afraid  to  hope  for  any  such  thing,"  said  Annie, 
"only  I  cannot  help  thinking  how  nice  it  would  be  if  I 
could  walk  just  a  little,  if  only  enough  to  save  mother 
from  waiting  upon  me  so  much." 

While  the  girls  were  talking,  Mr.  Benedict  came  climbing 
up  the  rock,  carrying  his  net,  and  an  armful  of  branches 
covered  with  large  Oak-leaves.  He  saw  the  girls,  and 
came  over  to  where  they  were  sitting. 

"  I  brought  these  leaves  for  you  to  make  berry-cups  of," 
said  he.  "  By  running  the  stems  through  the  points  of 
the  leaf,  you  can  make  very  nice  cups  for  the  young  folks 
to  use  at  their  lunch." 


62  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

"  We  will  braid  some  wreaths,  too,  to  put  round  the  plates 
of  cake  and  bread  and  butter,"  said  Annie  ;  and,  while 
waiting  for  the  return  of  the  party,  the  two  girls  braided 
long  wreaths  of  the  bright,  shining  leaves. 

"The  boys  are  on  their  way  back  to  the  Rock,"  said 
Mr.  Benedict,  "and  all  clamoring  for  cakes.  They  have 
been  all  through  the  woods  and  down  by  the  river.  Here 
they  come." 

The  boys  were  all  talking  and  laughing  as  they  came 
out  of  the  woods.  Close  behind  them  came  the  girls 
carrying  their  baskets  heaped  with  flowers. 

"Now,"  said  Queen  Annie,  "the  boys  may  bring  the 
baskets,  and  the  girls  shall  arrange  the  table." 

When  the  baskets  were  brought,  Annie  commanded  the 
boys  to  take  the  pails  and  bring  water  from  the  spring. 
While  they  were  gone,  the  girls  opened  the  baskets.  They 
laid  pieces  of  clean  paper  on  the  rock,  and  put  the  eata- 
bles upon  them.  There  were  tarts  and  cakes  and  thin 
slices  of  bread  and  butter,  and  sandwiches,  and  a  great 
basket  of  berries.  Over  the  contents  of  the  "dishes,"  as 
the  girls  said,  they  laid  covers  of  paper.  Then  Maggie 
brought  the  Oak-wreaths  and  twisted  them  round  among 
the  "dishes"  until  all  the  girls  pronounced  the  table  per- 
fect. 

"  Don't  you  think  some  of  your  flowers  would  look  pretty, 
too  ? "  said  Annie. 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  63 

"  O  yes ! "  said  Jennie  Graham,  "  let  's  use  some  of  the 
flowers  !" 

The  girls  all  seized  bunches  of  flowers,  and  the  bright 
blossoms  fluttered  from  their  hands  over  the  table  until 
it  looked  like  a  garden. 

"That  will  do,"  said  Rose.     "Now  for  the  Queen." 

She  took  her  hands  full  of  flowers  and  strewed  them 
all  over  Annie.  They  fluttered  down,  catching  in  her  hair 
and  falling  all  around  her.  She  sat  fairly  crowned  Queen 
of  the  Feast.  Then  they  heard  the  boys  coming  back 
with  the  pails  of  water,  and  Annie  told  the  girls  to  lift 
the  paper  covers  that  all  the  tempting  things  might  be 
displayed  to  the  hungry  company. 

"  Now,  girls,  that  's  too  inviting,"  said  Ben.  "  I  move  we 
begin." 

"  I  second  the  motion,"  said  Hal,  as  he  seized  a  sand- 
wich and  a  tart,  which  he  laid  on  a  piece  of  paper  and, 
kneeling  on  one  knee,  offered  to  the  Queen.  That  was 
a  signal  for  a  general  rush.  When  each  had  taken  his 
share,  they  all  lay  down  on  the  rock,  or  stood  about 
Annie's  seat  while  they  enjoyed  the  dainties. 

"  I  move  a  general  vote  of  thanks  to  the  girls,"  said  Ben, 
when  they  had  finished. 

"Three  times  three  for  the  girls,"  said  Gilbert,  and  the 
boys  made  the  forest  ring  with  their  shouts. 

"As  I  promised  to  describe   the  large   butterfly  to  you, 


64  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

I  have  brought  my  specimen  with  me,"  said  Mr.  Benedict, 
taking  his  box  from  his  pocket ;  "  but  as  the  girls  are  with 
us  to-day,  perhaps  you  would  prefer  to  get  up  some  game 
to  pass  the  time  which  remains  before  we  must  return 
home." 

"Please  to  give  us  a  butterfly  lesson,  Mr.  Benedict,"  said 
Annie. 

"Annie  is  Queen  of  the  Day.  Shall  we  follow  her  com- 
mands ? "  said  the  teacher. 

There  was  a  general  murmur  of  assent  from  both  girls 
and  boys,  and  the  teacher  commenced. 

"  Have  any  of  you  seen  or  caught  this  butterfly  ? "  he 
asked,  as  he  held  up  the  large,  bright  gold-colored  insect 
for  them  all  to  see. 

"  I  have  seen  them,  Sir,"  said  Hal,  "  but  not  this  Sum- 
mer. I  have  caught  them,  too,  but  they  were  so  strong 
they  always  got  away  from  me." 

"  Was  the  butterfly  stronger  than  you  were,  Hal  ? " 
asked  little  Frank. 

"Why,  Frank,  I  did  n't  hold  it  as  tight  as  I  would  a 
squirrel,  which  has  only  soft  fur,  instead  of  delicate  brittle 
wings." 

"  Hal  is  right,"  said  the  teacher.  "  I  know  of  no  butterfly 
that  takes  such  strong  hold  of  one's  fingers  with  his  feet 
as  the  Archippus.  It  is  so  strong  that,  without  ether,  it 
is  disagreeable  work  to  subdue  it.  The  Archippus  is  the 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  65 

largest  butterfly  we  have.  Its  wings  expand  from  three  to 
four  and  a  half  inches.  It  is  not  so  gaudy  in  color  as 
some  others  are.  The  wings  are  tawny  orange,  and  very 


Archippus. 

beautifully  bordered  with  black  dotted  with  white.  The 
wings  are  crossed  by  fine  black  veins,  and  on  the  tip  of 
the  fore  wing  are  several  yellow  and  white  spots  extending 
up  on  to  the  front  border.  The  under  side  of  the  wings 
is  of  a  deep  yellow,  bordered  and  veined  the  same  as  the 
upper  side.  The  head  and  thorax  are  black  spotted  with 
white,  and  the  antennae  have  a  long  knob.  The  males 
of  the  Archippus  are  marked  by  an  elevated  black  spot 
on  one  of  the  veins  near  the  centre  of  the  hind  wing. 


66  THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 

This  large  butterfly  belongs  to  the  genus  Danais.  It  is 
fond  of  hovering  round  Asclepias,  the  common  Silk-weed, 
and  deposits  its  eggs  on  this  plant.  It  appears  about  the 
middle  of  July  and  may  be  found  all  through  the  month 
of  September.  It  is  very  strong  on  the  wing,  and  you 
will  often  have  a  long  chase  after  it ;  but  fine  specimens 
are  worthy  of  pursuit.  I  hope  some  one  of  you  will  suc- 
ceed in  catching  one." 

"  See  here,"  said  little  Frank,  coming  eagerly  forward 
and  handing  to  the  teacher  a  butterfly  almost  the  same 
as  the  Archippus,  only  much  smaller. 

"Why,  Frank,  you  are  a  smart  boy.  Where  did  you 
find  that  ? " 

"  Flying  about  in  the  great  Willow  down  by  the  river. 
I  waited  there  a  long  time  for  it  to  come  within  reach 
of  my  net.  Is  n't  it  just  like  the  one  you  have  been 
talking  about  ? " 

"No,  it  is  a  little  different,  and  I  will  show  you  in  what 
respects.  It  is  so  much  like  the  Archippus  that  any  of 
you  might  have  taken  it  for  that.  But  this  is  the  Nym- 
phalis  Disippe,  and  it  belongs  to  a  different  genus.  In 
the  caterpillar  and  chrysalis  state  it  is  entirely  different. 
You  see  the  butterflies  are  exactly  the  same  in  color  and 
in  the  marking,  except  that  this  one  has  a  band  across 
the  hind  wing,  above  the  border.  Its  wings  expand  a 
little  over  three  inches.  The  genus  Nymphalis,  to  which 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 


this  butterfly  belongs,  are  all  four-footed.  The  edges  of 
the  wings  are  scalloped  instead  of  being  notched  or  tailed, 
and  there  is  no  elevated  spot  on  the  hind  wing  of  the 


Nymphalis  Disippe. 

male.  This  Disippe  butterfly  may  be  found  on  the  wing 
from  the  middle  of  July  until  October.  It  deposits  its 
eggs  on  Poplars  and  Willows,  where  you  will  often  find 
the  brown  caterpillar  creeping  about. 

"There  is  one  more  of  this  genus  which  we  will  take 
for  our  next  lesson.  It  is  very  beautiful  and  entirely  dif- 
ferent in  color  from  the  one  we  have  just  described.  It 
is  not  very  common,  but  it  will  be  on  the  wing  about 
this  time,  and  I  think  you  will  find  it  if  you  hunt  care- 
fully about  the  borders  of  some  woodland.  It  is  particu- 
larly fond  of  the  Scrub-Oak. 

"Before   we   meet   again    I   wish   you   would   try  to   find 


68  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

some  of  the  chrysalids  we  talked  about  at  the  last  lesson. 
Frank,  they  will  interest  you  more  than  the  caterpillars." 

"Yes,  Sir,  they  will.  But  where  shall  I  look  for  them?" 
said  Frank. 

"O,  in  different  places.  Sometimes  you  will  find  them 
attached  to  old  dead  branches  by  a  silken  thread,  or  hid 
away  in  snug  places  round  fences  and  stone  walls.  The 
chrysalids  of  the  moths,  that  we  shall  study  about  when 
we  have  finished  the  butterflies,  are  often  found  in  the 
ground.  The  Philodice  chrysalis  you  will  find  in  Clover 
fields  suspended  to  the  stalks  of  Clover  or  spires  of  grass. 
It  is  of  a  straw  color." 

"  I  am  going  to  hunt  for  some  of  them,"  said  Frank, 
"and  I  know  a  girl,"  he  added,  laughing  and  looking  to- 
ward the  Queen,  "who  is  making  a  collection.  She  has 
a  whole  box  full." 

"  Do  you  mean  Annie  ? "  asked  Mr.  Benedict,  turning 
towards  her. 

"  I  have  a  few,"  said  Annie,  "  that  Johnny  and  Hal  have 
brought  me." 

"I  found  some  of  them,"  said  Johnny,  "when  I  turned 
up  the  earth  in  making  Annie's  garden  in  the  Spring. 
We  had  not  commenced  studying  then,  but  they  were  so 
pretty  and  shining  I  carried  them  in  for  her  to  keep." 

"Have  any  butterflies  come  out  yet?"  asked  the  teacher. 

"No,   Sir,"  said  Annie.     Then  she  added  timidly,   "If  I 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  69 

let  Johnny  take  them  to  school  would  you  please  tell  him 
what  they  are  and  how  I  am  to  take  care  of  them  ? " 

"  You  need  not  do  that,  Annie,"  said  he.  "  I  will  come 
myself  and  see  them.  If  you  will  carry  all  you  find  to 
Annie,"  said  he,  addressing  the  class,  "I  will  tell  her  what 
they  are  and  show  her  how  to  preserve  them." 

Annie's  father  and  mother  had  been  waiting  some  time 
for  Mr.  Benedict  to  finish  his  instruction,  before  they  car- 
ried the  young  girl  to  the  carriage.  Now  the  girls  all 
gathered  around  Annie  and  kissed  her.  She  seemed  to  feel 
so  much  better  for  the  day  in  the  woods,  that  they  all 
resolved  that  she  should  be  there  with  them  again  before 
long. 

It  was  now  sunset,  and  the  young  folks  gathered  up 
their  baskets  and  walked  slowly  toward  the  village. 


7O  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

CHAPTER    XI. 

AN    EVENING    WITH     ANNIE    WEBB. 

HE  evening  before  Maggie's  return  to  the  city 
she  went  with  Rose,  Hal,  and  Tom  to  bid 
Annie  good  by. 

"Maggie,"  said  Tom,  as  they  walked  down 
the  hill,  "don't  you  tell  father  how  stout  and 
brown  I  have  grown,  for  I  'm  afraid  he  will 
think  I  am  well  enough  to  go  back  to  the  old,  dry  school 
again." 

On  hearing  this  speech,  Hal  gave  a  loud  laugh. 
"  What  are  you  laughing  at,  Sir  ? "  said  Tom. 
"  O,    I    was    only    remembering    the    doleful    face    you 
brought    out   under    the    Elm  the   first   morning    after   you 
came   here.      You   thought    the   country   was   horrible,   and 
now  you  find  the  old,  dry  schools  are  in  the  city." 

"Don't  you  dare  to  laugh  at  me,"  said  Tom.  "I  have 
been  ashamed  of  that  morning  ever  since.  But  we  do 
have  some  nice  things  in  the  city,  and  next  Winter  you 
must  come  and  see  for  yourself.  You  have  nothing  here 
then." 

"  Nothing  ?  O  Tom !  You  ought  to  see  Johnny  and  me 
sliding  down  the  side  of  the  Mountain  some  day  when  the 
crust  is  firm." 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  /I 

"O  well,  we  slide  down  hill  in  the  city,  and  skate,  too, 
although  our  sliding  places  are  not  as  grand  as  the  Moun- 
tain." 

"Then  sometimes  we  have  a  long,  drifting  snow-storm," 
said  Hal,  "and  when  it  is  over  we  shovel  paths  and  build 
snow-forts  and  have  grand  snowball  battles.  Then  is  when 
we  have  our  real  fun.  The  Summer  sports,  butterfly-hunt- 
ing and  the  like,  are  nothing  but  girls'  play." 

"  I  don't  think  it  was  girls'  play  yesterday,  Hal,"  said 
Maggie,  "  when  you  were  chasing  that  Archippus  butterfly. 
Rose  and  I  were  sitting  under  the  trees,  and  we  could  see 
you  rolling  over  walls  and  stumbling  over  rocks,  and  then 
when  you  finally  came  back  to  the  house  you  were  spat- 
tered all  over  with  mud." 

"  I  caught  the  Archippus,  though,"  said  Hal,  "  so  the 
mud  did  n't  matter.  It  was  rough  work,  to  be  sure." 

Before  they  reached  Mr.  Webb's  house  they  met  Mr. 
Benedict,  who  was  also  going  to  see  Annie. 

"I  have  lost  the  moths  which  came  out  of  these  small 
straw-colored  cocoons,"  said  Annie,  when  Mr.  Benedict  in- 
quired about  the  chrysalids.  "I  did  not  think  it  was  time 
for  any  of  them  to  come  out,  so  I  left  the  box  cover  off 
one  day  and  away  they  flew." 

"  It  will  be  safer  to  keep  your  box  closed,"  said  the 
teacher,  "for  they  may  break  the  doors  of  their  prison- 
house  at  any  time.  I  am  glad  your  box  is  large ;  it  gives 


72  THE   BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

the  insects  room  to  expand  their  wings.  These  you  have 
lost  were  the  moths  of  the  Lackey  caterpillar.  Their 
wings  are  reddish-brown,  crossed  by  two  dingy  white  lines. 
You  will  find  them  every  evening  now,  flying  about  your 
room,  if  you  leave  your  window  open  after  the  lights  are 
brought  in.  They  are  the  moths  which  leave  their  eggs 
on  the  apple-trees.  The  caterpillars  are  often  very  nu- 
merous, and,  unless  destroyed  by  the  farmer,  they  prove  a 
great  injury  to  the  fruit. 

"That  delicate  gray  chrysalis  contains  the  Vanessa 
Comma  butterfly.  Where  did  you  get  it?" 

"Johnny  found  it  on  the  Hop-vine  back  of  the  house," 
replied  Annie,  "and  this  dark-brown  one  Tom  brought 
me  yesterday.  He  took  it  from  an  old  branch  of  a  Willow." 

"That  is  the  chrysalis  of  the  Vanessa  Antiopa,  which 
the  boys  will  remember  we  had  specimens  of  in  the  early 
Spring,"  said  Mr.  Benedict  "That  chrysalis,"  pointing  to 
one  about  two  inches  long,  of  a  rich  brown  color,  and 
covered  with  little  points,  "is  as  valuable  as  any  you 
have.  It  contains  the  large  yellow  moth  called  Dryocampa 
Imperialis.  I  am  afraid  it  is  dead,  for  it  is  late  in  the 
season  for  it  to  come  out  It  generally  appears  by  the 
first  of  July." 

"Johnny  dug  that  chrysalis  out  of  the  ground  last 
Spring,"  said  Annie. 

Just  then  Johnny  came  into  the  room  with  his  butterfly 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  73 

box  in  his  hand.  He  opened  it  and  showed  its  gorgeous 
contents.  "It  was  so  sunny  to-day,"  said  he,  "that  the 
fields  were  full  of  butterflies.  I  never  saw  so  many  before. 
Shall  I  bring  them  all  to  the  class  to-morrow?" 

"Yes,  bring  them  all,"  said  the  teacher,  "and  I  will  tell 
you  about  as  many  as  I  can." 

He  wished  Annie  good  evening,  and  went  away  ;  but 
the  young  folks  sat  a  long  time  together,  for  Annie  was 
very  unwilling  to  bid  her  friend  good  by.  Before  Maggie 
left  she  had  made  Mr.  Webb  promise  to  send  for  Dr. 
Grey  to  examine  Annie's  foot,  and  as  she  was  going  away 
she  looked  back  to  Annie  and  said  :  "  Now  keep  up  a 
good  heart.  I  shall  come  again  in  the  Autumn  when  you 
have  the  Festival,  and  I  expect  to  find  you  walking  about 
like  all  the  rest  of  us." 

"She  is  the  dearest  girl  in  the  world,"  said  Annie  that 
night  to  her  mother.  "I  think  she  really  believes  I  shall, 
get  well." 

"We  all  hope  so,  too,  my  darling,"  said  her  mother,  as- 
she  kissed  her  good  night. 


74 


THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

JULY    BUTTERFLIES. 


HIS  bright  warm  month  of  July  is  the 
gala-day  for  the  butterfly,"  said  Mr.  Ben- 
edict, as  he  opened  the  class  on  the 
evening  following  Maggie's  departure. 
"You  boys  have  been  very  industrious  with  your  nets,"  he 
added,  as  he  looked  at  his  table,  which  was  quite  covered 
with  boxes  of  specimens.  "You  have  found  valuable  speci- 
mens of  many  large  varieties.  Most  of  these  butterflies 
have  just  left  the  chrysalis,  their  wings  are  perfect  and 
very  fresh  in  color.  At  the  picnic  I  promised  to  tell  you 
about  the  other  butterfly  belonging  to  the  genus  Nympha- 
lis.  I  was  afraid  no  one  would  find  a  specimen,  so  I 
brought  one  from  my  Cabinet ;  but  I  see  Ben  has  found 
one  much  finer  than  mine.  I  shall  use  his  to  illustrate 
my  description.  It  is  called  the  Nymphalis  Ephestion. 
Although  belonging  to  the  same  genus  as  the  Disippe 
butterfly,  it  is  entirely  different  in  color.  The  chrysalids 
of  both  butterflies  are  precisely  the  same  in  appearance ; 
but  while  the  Disippe  rises  from  its  dry  shell  with  a 
gorgeous  dress  of  orange  and  black,  the  more  modest 
Ephestion  is  clothed  in  blue-black.  A  beautiful  tint  of 


glossy  blue  is  spread  over  the  hind  wings.  The  wings  are 
scalloped  with  a  white  edge.  The  hind  margins  are  or- 
namented with  three  black  lines.  Near  the  edge  of  the 


Nymphalis  Ephestion. 

fore  wing  are  some  little  white  dots,  and  within  the  border 
some  spots  of  an  orange  color.  These  orange  spots  are 
often  very  faint  on  the  upper  side  of  the  wing,  but  on 
the  under  side  you  can  see  them  very'  distinctly.  The 
Ephestion  butterfly  expands  from  three  to  four  inches. 
You  will  find  it  on  the  wing  any  time  in  July  or  August, 
but  it  is  not  very  common. 

"  Here  are  four  different  specimens  of  the  genus  Ar- 
gynnis,"  said  the  teacher  ;  but  just  then  the  door  opened 
and  little  Frank  came  tripping  in.  "Well,  Frank,  where 
have  you  been  ?  We  have  half  finished  our  lesson  without 
you." 

"We  had  supper  so  late,"  said  Frank,  "that  I  could  n't 


76  THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

come  any  earlier.  My  mamma  said  I  would  better  not 
come  at  all,  but  I  had  this  butterfly  I  wanted  to  bring 
you." 

"This  is  a  Hunter's  butterfly,  Frank.  It  is  very  early 
in  the  season  for  it  to  appear.  As  there  are  several  but- 
terflies belonging  to  the  genus  Argynnis,  of  which  I  wish 
to  tell  you  this  evening,  I  will  keep  Frank's  butterfly  for 
the  next  lesson. 

"The  under  side  of  the  wings  of  butterflies  belonging 
to  the  genus  Argynnis  are  almost  invariably  ornamented 


Argynnis  Idalia. 

with  silvery  spots.  This  butterfly,  which  is  called  Argynnis 
Idalia,  has  a  row  of  silvery  crescent-shaped  spots,  just 
within  the  black  margin  on  the  under  side  of  the  wings." 
He  turned  the  butterfly  so  that  all  the  boys  could  see  the 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  // 

under  side.  "The  upper  side  of  this  butterfly  is  very 
beautiful.  Its  fore  wings,  which  expand  more  than  three 
inches,  are  of  a  dusky  orange,  spotted  with  black.  The 
black  border  on  the  edge  is  ornamented  on  the  inside  with 
points  and  on  the  outside  by  a  row  of  white  spots.  The 
hind  wings  are  of  a  beautiful  blue-black,  which  shows  very 
brilliant  in  the  sunlight.  On  the  hind  border  are  two  rows 
of  light  fawn-colored  spots.  In  the  males  the  outer  row 
of  spots  is  the  same  color  as  the  fore  wings.  This  butter- 
fly is  found  in  grass  fields  and  among  bushes  by  the  road- 
side, all  through  July  and  August." 

"I  think  this  butterfly  with  blue-black  wings  is  the 
handsomest  one  the  teacher  has  told  us  about,"  said  Tom, 
as  Mr.  Benedict  stopped  to  give  the  boys  a  little  recess. 

"  Which  one  do  you  mean  ? "  asked  Hal.  "  The  Ephes- 
tion  and  Idalia  both  have  blue-black  wings." 

"I  mean  the  Idalia,"  replied  Tom,  "which  has  only  the 
hind  wings  black.  This  is  the  first  butterfly  I  ever  saw 
with  wings  of  different  colors.  Only  see  how  pretty  the 
orange  and  black  look  together." 

The  boys  were  all  gathered  round  Mr.  Benedict's  table, 
for  during  recess  he  liked  to  have  them  come  and  examine 
the  butterflies  and  ask  him  questions  about  them. 

"Only  see  the  under  side,"  said  Hal,  taking  up  the 
Idalia  butterfly.  "  How  beautiful  the  silvery  spots  show 
on  that  deep  black." 


78  THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

"I  caught  some  butterflies  like  this  in  my  hat  last  Sum- 
mer," said  Johnny.  "As  I  did  n't  care  to  keep  them  then, 
I  carried  the  wings  to  Annie  and  she  arranged  them  with 
some  pressed  flowers  in  her  Herbarium." 

After  about  ten  minutes,  the  teacher  called  the  boys  to 
take  their  seats. 


Argynnis    Aphrodite. 

"Here,"  said  he,  "is  a  large  butterfly  called  Argynnis 
Aphrodite.  The  wings  are  tawny  orange  and  shaded  very 
dark  near  the  body.  The  male  is  much  lighter  in  color 
than  the  female.  There  is  a  fine  black  line  near  the  hind 
margin  of  the  wings,  within  which  is  a  row  of  black  cres- 
cent-shaped spots.  The  remainder  of  the  wings  is  spotted 
irregularly  with  black.  The  under  side  of  the  hind  wings 
is  covered  with  bright  silvery  spots,  peculiar  to  this  genus. 
On  the  under  side  of  the  fore  wings  there  are  only  a  few 
silvery  spots,  and  these  are  on  the  front  margin.  The 


THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS.  79 

Aphrodite  butterfly  expands  over  three  inches.  It  first 
appears  in  the  month  of  July,  and  flies  about  in  the  mead- 
ows all  through  August.  By  the  first  of  September  you 
will  find  it  faded  and  weak,  trying  in  vain  to  raise  itself 
above  the  low  shrubs  growing  close  to  the  ground.  You 
will  not  find  any  more  butterflies  as  large  as  this,  except 
some  of  the  varieties  I  have  already  described  to  you, 
many  of  which  linger  round  the  fields  all  through  the 
month  of  August.  The  genus  Cynthia,  to  which  Frank's 
Hunter's  butterfly  belongs,  possesses  some  of  very  good 
size,  but  none  as  large  as  the  Aphrodite  butterfly. 

"  Here  are  two  smaller  butterflies  belonging  to  the  genus 
Argynnis.  They  resemble  each  other  so  closely  that  with- 
out special  attention  you  cannot  distinguish  them  apart. 
This  one  is  the  Argynnis  Myrina.  You  see  it  is  very  small, 
expanding  less  than  two  inches,  but  the  same  in  color  as 
the  Aphrodite  butterfly  I  have  just  described,  the  wings 
being  of  tawny  orange,  and  marked  in  the  same  manner, 
except  that  on  the  hind  wings  of  the  Myrina  butterfly  are 
some  black  lines.  The  under  side  of  the  wings  are  paler 
in  color,  but  marked  with  the  silvery  spots  arranged  in 
rows.  There  is  a  row  of  black  dots  between  the  two 
outer  rows  of  silver.  This  little  butterfly  may  be  found 
in  low  grounds  all  through  the  Summer.  There  are  two 
broods.  The  first  leaves  the  chrysalis  about  the  first  of 
June,  and  some  of  these  are  still  hovering  about  when  the 


8O  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

second  brood  begins  to  make  its  appearance,  which  is 
about  the  first  of  August.  This  other  small  butterfly  is 
called  Argynnis  Bellona.  It  closely  resembles  the  Myrina 
butterfly  in  shape  and  color.  The  Bellona,  however,  is  a 
shade  richer  in  color,  and  the  under  side  of  the  wings  is 
of  a  purplish  tint.  The  chief  distinction,  and  indeed  the 
only  one  which  can  be  positively  determined,  is  that 
the  Bellona  butterfly  lacks  the  silvery  spots  on  the  under 
side  of  the  wings.  The  antennae  of  the  genus  Argynnis 
spread  apart,  and  the  knobs  are  thick  and  short.  There 
are  also  some  peculiarities  in  the  caterpillar  which  distin- 
guish this  species,  but  I  don't  think  any  of  you  will  be 
interested  to  learn  about  them  at  present.  I  know  our 
young  friend  Frank  will  not. 

"  Here  is  one  more  small  butterfly  which  Johnny  Webb 
has  brought  in.  It  is  not  of  the  genus  of  which  I  have 
been  speaking,  but,  as  I  do  not  think  you  will  find  any 
more  of  the  genus  to  which  this  belongs,  I  will  add  it  to 
the  lesson  to-day. 

"Annie  caught  that  butterfly,  Sir,"  said  Johnny.  "She 
was  sitting  in  her  seat  in  the  garden  and  it  lighted  on 
some  flowers  which  were  lying  on  the  seat.  She  caught 
it  in  her  handkerchief." 

"You  must  remember  the  name  of  it  and  tell  Annie 
when  you  go  home,"  said  the  teacher.  "  It  is  the  Melitasa 
Pharos,  and  is  the  only  one  of  the  genus  Melitasa  which 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 


8l 


is   common.      The   wings    are   dusky  orange.      There   is   a 
broad  black  border  on   the   hind   wing,   with   a   wavy  line 
of  black  just  inside.     Inside  of  this  is  a  row  of  fine  black 
dots.     The    rest    of   the    wing    is 
marked  by  narrow  black  lines  and 
blotches.      Underneath    the    wings 
are   of  a   buff  color,   and   marked 
with  black  lines  and  blotches   the 
same  as  above.     This  little  butter- 
fly expands  one  inch  and  a  half." 

The  teacher  here  finished  his  lecture,  and  the  boys  all 
put  away  their  pencils  and  note-books,  and  passed  quietly 
out  of  the  school-house. 


Melitaea   Pharos. 


82 


THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 


CHAPTER      XIII. 

THE    HAY-FIELD. 

NE  Saturday  morning  Rose,  Hal,  and  Tom  were 
sitting  out  under  the  Elm  talking  about  the 
Butterfly  Festival,  which  was  to  take  place  in 
the  Autumn.  Maggie  was  coming  up  from 
the  city  to  go  with  them,  and  after  it  was  all 
over  Tom  was  to  return  home  with  his  sister. 
There  were  still  two  months  before  they  would  have  the 
Festival,  but  the  young  folks  had  already  commenced  lay- 
ing many  plans  to  be  carried  out  when  the  grand  frolic 
took  place. 

"We  ought  to  have  a  Queen  butterfly,"  said  Rose,  "and 
the  game  should  be  for  you  boys  to  try  to  capture  her." 

"We  must  have  grand  new  nets  for  that,"  said  Tom. 
"It  would  never  do  to  throw  the  old  nets  we  have  dragged 
through  mud  and  briers  all  Summer  over  the  head  of  the 
Queen." 

"Perhaps  you  won't  catch  her  with  a  net  at  all,"  said 
Rose. 

"  What  shall  we  catch  her  with  ?  Come,  Rose,  tell  us," 
said  Hal. 

Rose  shook  her  head  and  looked  very  mysterious.     The 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  83 

boys  knew  that  the  girls  had  some  secret  plans  about  the 
Festival,  so  they  tried  their  best  to  tease  Rose  to  tell 
about  them.  Just  then  they  saw  a  bristling  array  of 
rakes  and  pitchforks  coming  up  the  hill,  and  soon  the 
whole  butterfly  class  appeared,  each  boy  carrying  a  rake 
or  a  pitchfork  over  his  shoulder. 

"  Hallo,  boys,"  said  Hal,  springing  forward  to  meet  them, 
"  where  are  you  bound  ?  " 

"You  told  us  that  you  and  Tom  were  going  into  the 
hay-field  this  morning,"  said  Ben  Wait,  "so  we  thought 
you  ought  not  to  have  the  frolic  all  by  yourselves." 

"  I  've  brought  my  butterfly  net,"  said  little  Frank. 
"  I  'm  going  to  catch  ever  so  many  butterflies  while  the 
rest  make  hay." 

"Take  care  that  some  butterfly  does  not  catch  you, 
Master  Puck,"  said  Rose  ;  but  Frank  was  already  over 
the  wall  and  capering  off  across  the  field. 

"You  are  just  in  time,  boys,"  said  Hal;  "there  is  grass 
enough  down  for  us  all  to  work  at,  and  by  this  time  it 
ought  to  be  spread  out  to  dry." 

They  all  started  off  towards  the  field,  Tom  and  Hal 
stopping  at  the  barn  on  the  way  for  their  pitchforks.  As 
they  were  going  down  the  lane  Rose  Called  after  them : 
"When  you  are  tired,  boys,  go  to  the  Elm  in  the  centre 
of  the  lot,  and  there  you  will  find  something  to  rest  you." 

"  That  's  just  like  Rose,"  said  Ben  Wait ;  "  she  always 
knows  what  is  good  for  boys." 


84  THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

When  they  reached  the  field,  they  saw  a  number  of  men 
swinging  their  scythes  through  the  tall  grass,  which  was 
still  wet  with  the  morning  dew.  Hal  and  his  party  soon 
were  hard  at  work,  spreading  out  the  new-mown  hay  so 
that  it  would  catch  the  hot  rays  of  the  sun.  Their  merry 
voices  rang  through  the  air  as  they  called  back  and  forth 
to  each  other  across  the  field.  Meanwhile  little  Frank, 
with  his  blue  gauze  net  flying  over  his  shoulder,  was 
jumping  and  running  about  all  over  the  field,  often  stop- 
ping to  watch  the  yellow  Philodice  butterfly  at  play.  The 
Philodice  were  very  numerous  now,  and  they  were  flying 
in  pairs  round  and  round  over  the  sweet-scented  hay. 

At  last  Tom  stopped  work  and  leaned  on  the  handle 
of  his  pitchfork.  He  was  not  quite  so  robust  as  the 
country  boys,  and  the  work  in  the  hot  Summer  sun  was 
harder  than  anything  he  had  been  accustomed  to.  But 
all  the '  boys  began  to  feel  tired,  for  they  had  not  been 
playing,  but  working  with  a  will,  each  one  trying  to  prove 
himself  the  smartest  man.  They  were  all  quite  ready  to 
follow  Hal,  who  proposed  that  they  should  stack  their 
pitchforks  and  go  to  the-  Elm.  Here  they  found  some 
fairy  had  placed  a  basket  of  gingerbread  and  sandwiches 
and  a  pail  of  iced  molasses  and  water.  "Real  haymaker's 
fare,"  said  Ben,  as  he  seized  a  huge  slice  of  gingerbread 
and  proceeded  to  dispose  of  it.  Little  Frank  saw  them 
sitting  under  the  tree,  and  came  up  for  his  share.  He 
held  something  very  carefully  in  his  net 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  85 

"It  is  not  a  butterfly,"  said  he,  as  the  boys  gathered 
round  to  look. 

"O  no,"  said  many  voices  at  once,  "it  is  nothing  but  a 
Devil's  Darning-needle."  And  they  all  laughed  at  Frank 
for  throwing  his  net  over  one  of  those  things. 

"  It  is  almost  as  pretty  as  a  butterfly,"  said  Frank,  "  and 
I  am  going  to  take  it  to  the  teacher  to-night."  He  took 
out  his  little  bottle  of  ether,  and,  with  Tom's  help,  he  soon 
subdued  the  insect  and  secured  it  to  a  cork  in  his  box. 
It  was  very  pretty,  as  Frank  had  said,  with  its  long,  slen- 
der, black  body  and  four  gauzy  wings. 

When  the  boys  had  seated  themselves  round  the  tree, 
and  were  eating  their  luncheon,  Hal  asked  what  butterflies 
they  had  for  the  class  that  night,  adding  that  he  had  none. 

"There  is  my  Hunter's  butterfly  I  carried  last  time,  and 
then  the  Darning-needle,"  said  Frank. 

"The  Darning-needle  is  very  important  of  course,"  said 
Ben.  "  I  am  afraid  if  we  depend  upon  you,  Frankie,  to 
supply  us  with  specimens,  Mr.  Benedict  might  as  well  give 
up  the  class.  Fortunately  I  have  some  new  ones  I  caught 
yesterday  after  school." 

Gilbert  had  some  too,  so  they  concluded  that  would  be 
enough. 

"  There  is  Rose  coming  down  the  lane,"  said  Ben ;  "  let  's 
all  go  and  meet  her."  The  boys  gathered  up  the  remains 
of  their  luncheon  and  started  towards  the  house. 


86  THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 

"Johnny,"  said  Rose,  as  the  boys  came  up  to  her,  "I 
have  just  returned  from  seeing  Annie.  Dr.  Grey  has  come 
to  see  her  to-day,  and  I  thought  you  would  like  to  know 
what  he  says." 

The  boys  stood  very  silent,  until  finally  Johnny  spoke  : 
"  What  does  the  Doctor  say  about  her  foot  ? "  he  asked. 

"  He  thinks  —  he  hopes,"  answered  Rose,  "  that  he  can 
cure  her.  She  will  have  to  keep  very  quiet  in  her  cham- 
ber for  a  good  many  weeks,  he  says,  but  he  thinks,  she 
will  be  able  to  walk,  perhaps  not  as  well  as  you  can, 
Johnny,  but  still  without  her  crutch." 

Johnny's  face  was  flushed  and  his  eyes  shone  with  ex- 
citement, as  he  listened  to  what  Rose  was  saying  about 
his  sister.  He  had  never  seen  Annie  walk  in  all  his  life, 
except  very  slowly  and  leaning  on  her  crutches,  for  he  was 
not  so  old  as  she  was,  and  the  injury  which  had  made  her 
such  a  patient  sufferer  for  so  many  years  she  had  received 
before  he  was  born  ;  and  now  the  Doctor  said  that  perhaps 
within  a  few  weeks  she  would  walk  round  the  house,  and, 
it  might  be,  out  into  the  garden,  without  even  leaning  on 
his  arm. 

"  I  think  I  'd  better  go  home,  boys,"  said  he ;  "  perhaps 
I  can  help  about  something." 

All  the  boys  started  at  once  to  go  with  him.  When 
they  reached  Mr.  Webb's  house,  everything  was  very  quiet, 
and  all  they  could  learn  was  that  the  Doctor  and  Annie's 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  8/ 

mother  were  in  Annie's  room  with  the  young  girl,  but 
that  nothing  could  be  decided  as  yet. 

That  evening  at  the  butterfly  class  the  boys  were  all 
watching  for  Johnny  and  when  he  appeared  they  all  began 
to  question  him.  He  had  not  much  to  tell  them.  The 
Doctor  had  performed  an  operation  on  Annie's  foot,  and 
had  gone  back  to  the  city.  He  had  left  very  strict  orders 
to  keep  Annie  quiet  on  her  bed,  and  in  a  few  days  he  was 
coming  again,  when  he  would  be  able  to  say  with  more 
confidence  what  would  be  the  result.  Mr.  Benedict  was 
much  interested  in  Annie,  but  he  saw  it  would  be  better 
for  the  boys  to  draw  their  thoughts  to  another  subject. 
"  Come,  boys,"  said  he,  "  we  must  examine  our  specimens 
for  the  evening."  He  looked  at  what  had  been  brought 
in,  and  then  commenced  his  lecture. 

"At  our  last  meeting  I  told  you  about  four  varieties 
of  the  genus  Argynnis.  There  are  many  more  of  that  class 
in  which  you  would  be  interested,  and  if  any  of  you  bring 
in  another  variety,  which  I  don't  think  very  likely,  I  will 
tell  you  about  it.  At  present,  however,  I  shall  pass  to 
the  genus  Cynthia,  to  which  Frank's  Hunter's  butterfly 
belongs.  This  genus  is  distinguished  by  the  evenness  of 
the  edges  of  the  wings.  On  the  fore  wings  there  is  a 
slight  indentation,  and  they  are  also  slightly  elongated  to- 
ward the  front  border.  The  hind  wings  are  never  indented 
nor  tailed.  In  the  Cynthia  Huntera,  or  Hunter's  butterfly, 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 


the   fore   wings   are   black,    spotted   with  white   toward   the 
tips   and   orange   toward   the   shoulders.      Round  the  black 


Cynthia  Huntera. 

balder  of  the  hind  wings  are  some  small  crescent-shaped 
black  spots,  inside  of  which  is  a  row  of  black  dots.  The 
under  side  of  the  wings  of  the  Cynthia  Huntera  are  more 
beautiful  than  those  of  any  other  butterfly  we  have  ex- 
amined. The  hind  wings  are  very  delicately  marbled  with 
drab  and  white.  On  the  margin  are  delicate  lines  of  drab 
and  white,  and  just  inside  four  purplish  spots.  On  the 
male  there  are  only  two  of  these  spots,  and  they  are  much 
larger  than  those  on  the  female  and  edged  with  white. 
The  fore  wings  are  beautifully  spotted  with  pink,  black 
and  white  on  a  drab  ground.  This  specimen  of  Frank's 
is  very  perfect,  and  bright  in  color,  as  it  has  only  just 
now  come  forth  from  the  chrysalis.  A  few  weeks  later 
you  will  find  these  butterflies  very  common.  They  are 
not  large,  expanding  at  the  most  only  two  and  a  half 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  89 

inches,  but  they  are  so  very  pretty  that  they  well  repay 
the  trouble  of  a  chase. 

"  Here  are  some  more  specimens  of  another  butterfly  be- 
longing to  this  genus.  It  is  the  Cynthia  Cardui,  commonly 
called  Thistle  butterfly,  because  its  caterpillar  lives  upon 
the  leaves  of  that  plant.  You  will  find  it  all  through 
the  months  of  July  and  August  hovering  about  by  the 
roadside.  It  loves  the  blossoms  of  the  Thistle,  but  sucks 
honey  from  many  other  flowers  as  well.  You  see  it  is  not 
quite  so  large  as  the  Hunter's  butterfly,  and  not  so  beauti- 
fully colored.  The  body  is  thick  and  clumsy.  The  wings 
are  tawny  orange  spotted  with  black  and  white,  and  if  you 
look  very  closely  you  will  see  they  have  a  faint  rose-tint. 
The  under  side  of  the  hind  wings  is  very  much  like  that 
of  the  Hunter's  butterfly.  It  is  marbled  in  the  same 
manner,  but  the  marking  varies  a  little.  On  the  Thistle 
butterfly  there  is  an  irregular-shaped  white  spot  near  the 
centre  of  the  wing,  and  a  row  of  dots  on  the  border. 

"Gilbert  has  brought  in  one  other  variety  of  the  genus 
Cynthia.  It  is  called  Cynthia  Atalanta.  You  see  it  is  a 
little  larger  than  the  two  I  have  just  described.  It  ex- 
pands about  three  inches.  The  wings  of  the  Atalanta 
butterfly  are  black.  At  the  tip  of  the  fore  wings  are  a 
few  little  white  spots.  There  is  a  band  of  orange  across 
the  centre  of  the  fore  wing,  which  extends  round  on  to 
the  hind  wing  forming  its  margin.  When  the  wings  of 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 


Cynthia  Atalanta. 

this  butterfly  are  opened  as  Gilbert  has  arranged  his  speci- 
men, you  see  that  this  orange  band  on  all  four  wings  forms 
an  almost  perfect  circle.  On  the  orange  margin  of  the 
hind  wings  is  a  row  of  black  dots  ;  two  of  these  dots 
nearest  to  the  hind  angle  have  a  blue  centre.  The  Ata- 
lanta butterfly  is  commonly  found  hovering  over  beds  of 
the  Nettle,  and  the  leaves  of  this  plant  receive  its  eggs. 
There  are  two  broods  in  the  course  of  the  season,  the  first 
coming  out  early  in  July  and  the  second  the  last  of  Au- 
gust. This  butterfly  is  not  considered  a  native  American, 
but  is  supposed  to  have  been  introduced  from  Europe  to- 
gether with  the  Nettle,  which  was  originally  a  foreign 
plant,  although  it  is  now  very  common  and  may  be  found 
growing  round  nearly  every  old  country  home.  A  Nettle 
plant  is  not  a  very  tender  nursery  for  a  young  caterpillar 
to  be  born  in,  and  no  doubt  Frank  would  be  glad  to  hear 


THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS.  9 1 

that  the  prickles  killed  it,  before  it  was  a  day  old.  But 
Nature  takes  better  care  of  her  young  children  than  to 
allow  such  things  to  happen.  The  young  caterpillar  is 
curiously  provided  with  long  spines,  which  project  all  over 
its  body  and  entirely  protect  it  from  the  sharp  prickles 
of  the  Nettle. 

"For  our  next  lesson  we  will  take  some  more  specimens 
of  the  genus  Vanessa.  You  remember  the  Antiopa,  the 
first  butterfly  I  described  to  you  last  Spring,  belonged  to 
this  genus,  and  there  are  two  more  that  ought  by  this 
time  to  be  on  the  wing.  Very  likely  some  of  you  will 
find  specimens  before  we  meet  again." 

Mr.  Benedict  was  about  to  dismiss  the  class,  when  little 
Frank,  who  had  been  waiting  very  impatiently  "for  the 
teacher  to  stop,  climbed  down  from  his  seat  and  came 
towards  Mr.  Benedict's  table.  He  had  not  placed  his  speci- 
men with  the  others,  because  he  wanted  to  give  it  to  Mr. 
Benedict  himself. 

"  Well,  what  have  you  now,  my  little  fellow  ? "  asked  the 
teacher. 

"  That  's  what  I  want  you  to  tell  me.  All  the  boys 
laughed  at  me  for  catching  it,  and  said  it  was  only  a 
Devil's  Darning-needle." 

A  loud  laugh  rang  through  the  class  at  Frank's  state- 
ment, in  which  the  teacher  joined. 

"That  is  the  common  name  of  this  insect,  Frank,"  said 


92  THE   BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

he.  "  It  is  one  variety  of  Dragon-Fly.  Some  of  these 
Dragon-Flies  are  very  delicate  and  beautiful,  and  I  think 
you  would  all  be  interested  to  add  a  few  to  your  collec- 
tion. Some  day  before  vacation  I  would  like  to  go  with 
you  on  a  boating  excursion.  Dragon-Flies  always  live 
around  ponds  and  damp  places,  and  in  the  marshy  borders 
of  World's  End  Pond  we  shall  be  sure  to  capture  some 
fine  specimens." 


THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 


93 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

HAL'S    MISHAPS    IN    THE    WOODS. 

"!T  will  be  real  jolly  t«  go  on 
a  boating  frolic  with  Mr.  Bene- 
dict," said  Hal,  as  the  boys  were 
leaving  the  school-house. 

"If  I  had  not  carried  him  my 
Darning-needle,"  said  Frank,  "he 
never  would  have  thought  about  going.  I  wish  he  would 
go  next  week.  I  want  to  catch  some  more  Dragon-Flies,, 
they  are  so  —  " 

"  So  what  ? "  interrupted  Ben  Wait.  "  I  don't  think  they 
are  half  so  pretty  as  butterflies.  Don't  you  see  the  things 
have  no  color,  except  black  and  white  ?  I  used  to  think 
that  they  could  sting  worse  than  bees  with  that  horrid 
long  tail." 

"You   need   not   go    to   the   boating   party   then,"    said 
Frank. 

"  Yes,  I  will.  I  like  the  boating  too  well  to  stay  at- 
home." 

"  We  must  be  almost  through  with  butterflies,"  said  Hal.. 
"  I  don't  remember  seeing  many  more  kinds  than  we  have: 
caught." 


94  THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

"Just  as  if  you  knew  anything  about  it,"  said  Ben. 

"  I  do,"  said  Hal.  "  I  always  used  to  catch  butterflies  in 
my  hat,  only  I  never  kept  them  before,  and  I  know  we 
have  had  most  all  the  kinds  at  the  class.  There  are  some 
little  dark  butterflies  I  have  seen  in  the  woods  that  we 
have  not  had  yet.  Mr.  Benedict  will  want  those  of  course." 

One  day,  not  long  after  this  conversation  took  place,  Hal 
and  Tom  started  out  into  the  woods  to  look  for  some  of 
the  little  dark  butterflies  of  which  Hal  had  spoken.  The 
woods  were  deliciously  cool  and  the  boys  lay  down  under 
the  trees  for  a  long  time  before  looking  about  for  their 
butterflies.  It  was  so  pleasant  to  watch  the  stray  bits  of 
sunlight  which  came  gleaming  down  here  and  there  be- 
tween the  branches,  falling  in  bright  bits  of  light  on 
clusters  of  delicate,  wavy  ferns  and  beds  of  rich  moss. 

"Well,  Tom,"  said  Hal,  springing  up  at  length,  "we 
sha'n't  accomplish  much  in  this  way.  I  want  to  fill  my 
box  with  the  little  brownies  before  I  go  home." 

They  started  off,  one  towards  the  mountain  and  the 
other  into  the  Birches,  and  agreed  to  meet  under  the  Elm 
at  home.  Tom  was  very  successful  that  afternoon.  He 
had  grown  quite  familiar  with  the  secret  of  creeping  safely 
through  bushes  and  briers,  and  he  could  tumble  over  a 
stone  wall  as  gracefully  as  any  real  country  boy  ;  so  he 
went  easily  about  in  the  thickets  on  the  mountain,  and 
long  before  sunset  a  brownie  was  mounted  on  every  cork 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  95 

in  his  box.  As  he  approached  the  house  he  saw  Hal 
sitting  under  the  Elm.  Hal  was  very  much  out  of  temper. 
There  was  no  end  to  his  bad  luck.  He  had  encountered 
an  angry  bull,  and  very  narrowly  escaped  him.  Then  just 
as  he  was  plunging  forward  to  throw  his  net  over  a  rare 
specimen,  his  foot  got  entangled  in  some  briers  and  over 
he  went,  scratching  his  hands  and  breaking  the  staff  of 
his  net  as  he  fell.  His  box  flew  out  of  his  hand,  the  cover 
rolled  off,  and  several  brownies  he  had  already  captured 
were  loosened  from  the  pins  and  scattered  broken  among 
the  brambles. 

"  I  will  give  up  beat  this  time,  Tom,"  said  he.  "  Now 
let 's  see  what  you  have  caught." 

Tom  showed  his  handsome  collection. 

"You  have  worked  like  an  old  naturalist,"  said  Hal, 
"while  I,  like  a  clumsy  fellow,  have  done  nothing  but 
tumble  about  among  the  bushes.  Come  along,"  he  added, 
"I  must  go  and  cut  a  new  stick  for  my  net." 

When  they  started  for  the  next  class-meeting,  Tom  took 
his  box  of  brownies,  although  the  teacher  had  said  the 
lesson  would  be  on  the  genus  Vanessa. 

"  Have  the  boys  caught  any  Vanessas  ? "  asked  Tom. 

"Yes,"  replied  Hal,  "Ben  and  some  of  the  other  fellows 
had  some  to-day." 

When  the  boys  reached  the  school-house  they  found  Mr. 
Benedict  was  just  commencing.  As  they  went  in  he  was 


96  THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

holding  up  a  butterfly  before  the  class.     It  expanded  about 
two  inches  and  a  half. 


Semicolon. 

"This  belongs  to  the  genus  Vanessa,"  said  he,  "and  is 
commonly  called  the  Semicolon  butterfly,  on  account  of  the 
resemblance  of  the  golden  spot  on  the  under  side  of  each 
hind  wing  to  a  semicolon.  The  wings  are  tawny  orange, 
shaded  very  dark  near  the  body.  They  are  spotted  all 
over  with  brown.  On  the  margin  is  a  regular  line  of 
brown  spots,  inside  of  which,  on  the  hind  wings,  is  a  row 
of  lighter-colored  spots.  The  under  side  is  marbled  with 
different  shades  of  gray.  In  the  centre  of  the  fore  wing 
is  a  white  spot,  and  on  the  hind  wing  the  gold-colored 
semicolon.  A  few  specimens  of  this  butterfly  are  some- 
times found  in  May,  and  by  some  naturalists  it  is  supposed 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  97 

to  live  through  the  Winter.  This  is  very  probable,  as 
those  seen  on  the  wing  in  that  month  have,  as  a  general 
thing,  faded  and  torn  wings.  The  time  for  taking  them 
for  your  collection  is  from  the  last  of  July  till  October. 

"Another  species  of  this  genus  is  the  Vanessa  Comma. 
Gilbert  has  brought  in  several  very  fine  specimens.  You 
see,"  said  Mr.  Benedict,  as  he  held  up  Gilbert's  box  before; 
the  class,  "that  the  Comma  butterfly  is  not  quite  so  large 
as  the  Semicolon.  It  is  very  rarely  found  expanding  more 
than  two  inches.  The  wings  are  dull  orange,  shaded  on 
the  margin  with  a  purple  tint.  They  are  spotted  with 
brown,  and  along  the  margin  is  a  row  of  buff-colored  dots. 
The  edges  of  the  fore  wings  are  deeply  notched,  and  the 
hind  wings  are  tailed.  Underneath,  the  wings  are  marbled 
with  gray,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  under  side  of  each 
hind  wing  is  a  silvery  spot  shaped  like  a  comma.  A  few 
poor  specimens  of  the  Comma  butterfly  are,  like  the  Semi- 
colon, often  seen  flying  about  in  May,  but  the  time  when1 
they  are  to  be  found  fresh  in  color  and  perfect  for  a 
cabinet,  is  during  the  month  of  August  and  September. 

"There  is  one  more  of  this  genus  which  appears  at  the: 
same  season  as  the  others.  You  have  not  found  any  speci- 
mens of  it  as  yet,  but  I  will  describe  it,  so  that  you  may" 
know  its  appearance.  It  expands  over  two  inches,  and  is- 
very  showy  and  handsome.  The  wings  are  of  a  rich-  vel- 
vety black,  and  there  is  a  broad  orange  band  extending: 
7 


98  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

across  both  pairs  of  wings  near  the  margin.  On  the  hind 
wings  there  is  a  row  of  blue  crescent-shaped  spots  between 
this  band  and  the  edge.  On  the  front  edge  of  the  fore 
wings  are  two  large  orange  spots.  The  under  side  of  the 
wings  is  dark  brown,  with  a  band  of  a  lighter  shade  of 
brown  near  the  margin.  The  name  of  this  gay  little  but- 
terfly is  Vanessa  Milberti  or  Milbert's  butterfly. 


Vanessa  Milberti. 

"I  shall  tell  you  about  only  two  more  kinds  of  butter- 
flies this  Summer.  Then  we  shall  have  examined,  not  of 
course  all  kinds  of  butterflies,  but  nearly  all  the  varieties 
common  in  New  England.  The  two  remaining  varieties 
are  the  Hipparchians  and  Skippers." 

Just  then  Tom,  seeing  that  Mr.  Benedict  was  about  to 
dismiss  the  class,  brought  his  box  of  brownies  to  the 
teacher. 

"These  are  Hipparchians,"  said  Mr.  Benedict.  He  held 
up  the  box  for  all  the  boys  to  see,  and  told  them  that 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  99 

before  the  next  class-meeting  he  would  like  to  have  them 
hunt  in  the  woods  and  shady  places  for  more  varieties. 
He  said  they  would  devote  the  next  lesson  to  Hippar- 
chians  and  the  last  to  Skippers.  After  that  they  would 
have  the  boating  excursion. 

"What  did  you  say  about  Skippers,  Sir?"  said  Frank. 
"Are  they  butterflies?" 

"Yes,  they  are  butterflies,  but  very  small  ones,"  replied 
the  teacher. 

"There  goes  a  Skipper,  now.  Catch  him,  catch  him," 
said  Gilbert,  as  the  boys  were  leaving  the  school-house ; 
and,  bounding  after  Frank,  he  seized  him  in  his  arms,  and, 
placing  him  astride  of  his  broad  shoulders,  galloped  off  up 
the  street. 


IOO 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

THE  LITTLE   WOOD-BROWNIES. 

.EFORE  the  next  meeting  the  boys  searched 
faithfully  through  all  the  woods  and  thickets, 
and  many  a  poor  brownie  yielded  up  its 
little  life  and  took  its  place  on  a  cork. 

"  I  always  call  these  butterflies  Quakers," 
said  the  teacher,  as  he  commenced  his  lecture.  "They  do 
not  appear  in  the  brilliant  colors  worn  by  butterflies  that 
love  flowers  and  sunshine,  but,  dressed  in  Quaker  drab, 
they  seek  the  quiet  and  retirement  of  the  woods,  where 
they  flit  about  in  graceful  circles  over  the  shady  beds  of 
ferns  and  woodland  grasses.  These  Quakers  belong  to  the 
genus  Hipparchia.  They  possess  several  distinguishing  fea- 
tures, the  most  prominent  of  which  is  the  enlargement  of 
the  veins  of  the  fore  wings  near  the  shoulder.  I  shall 
describe  some  of  the  different  varieties." 

There  the  teacher  stopped,  and  selected  a  box  from  those 
on  his  table,  which  he  held  up  before  the  boys.  "I  think," 
said  he,  "that  this  little  butterfly  is  more  beautiful  than 
any  other  of  the  Quakers.  It  is  called  Hipparchia  Eurytris. 
It  is  found  in  the  thick  woods  where  the  air  is  damp  and 
cool.  It  always  seeks  the  shade  rather  than  the  sunshine, 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  IOI 

* 

and  flutters  low  among  the  bushes,  as  if  to  hide  from  even 
the  daylight.  It  is  especially  the  Quaker  butterfly,  for  the 
color  of  its  wings  is  a  fine  Quaker  drab,  shaded  a  little 
darker  toward  the  shoulders.  Near  the  margin  of  all  the 
wings  is  a  band  a  shade  light- 
er, and  on  the  band,  on  each 
wing,  are  two  eye-like  black 
spots  surrounded  by  a  ring 
of  very  pale  drab.  The  un- 
der side  is  precisely  like  the 

J  Hipparcma   Eurytns. 

upper.  The  wings  of  this  lit- 
tle butterfly  are  very  delicate  and  fine  in  texture,  and  so 
easily  soiled  or  broken  as  to  make  it  difficult  to  capture 
without  injury.  The  Eurytris  butterfly  is  found  in  July, 
and  sometimes  as  late  as  the  last  of  August.  It  expands 
about  one  inch  and  a  half. 

"  The  largest  of  these  butterflies  is  the  Hipparchia  Alope. 
Its  wings  expand  two  inches,  and  even  larger  specimens 
have  been  captured.  I  have  one  in  my  collection  measur- 
ing over  two  inches  and  a  half;  but  you  have  found  none 
over  the  usual  size.  The  wings  are  all  dull  brown.  Across 
the  centre  of  the  fore  wings  is  a  broad  ochre-yellow  band, 
on  which  are  two  black  spots,  with  a  light  blue  centre. 
The  hind  wings  are  scalloped  and  ornamented  with  a  row 
of  black  dots  round  the  margin,  outside  of  which  is  a  band 
of  lighter  brown  than  the  rest  of  the  wing.  The  under 


IO2  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

side  of  the  wings  is  pale  brown,  crossed  by  lines  of  a 
darker  shade.  In  the  male  Alope  there  are  rarely  any 
black  dots  on  the  hind  wings.  The  Alope  butterfly  is 


Hipparchia  Alope. 

found  all  through  July  and  August,  and  often  as  late  as 
the  last  of  September.  It  does  not  seek  the  dense  shade 
so  much  as  the  Eurytris  butterfly,  but  loves  to  hover  where 
the  sunlight,  streaming  through  the  leaves,  warms  and  dries 
the  air.  Sometimes  late  in  the  season  I  have  seen  it  ven- 
ture out  from  its  sylvan  hiding-place  into  the  open  air 
of  the  orchards. 

"The  other  varieties  of  this  butterfly  are  not  common. 
The  Hipparchia  Semidia,  or  Mountain  butterfly  is  found 
in  the  mountainous  regions  of  New  England,  but  I  have 
never  known  it  to  visit  the  more  level  country.  It  has  the 
same  general  character  as  the  two  we  have  just  described, 
wings  grayish  brown  and  spotted  with  a  lighter  shade  of 
the  same  color.  The  texture  of  its  wings  is  so  very  deli- 
cate that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  procure  a  perfect  speci- 
men. 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  1 03 

"There  is  another  variety  of  Hipparchia  which  has  been 
named  Boisduvallii,  in  honor  of  the  celebrated  naturalist  of 
that  name.  It  also  is  a  lover  of  mountainous  regions.  In 
appearance  it  is  not  essentially  different  from  the  Eurytris, 
except  that  it  is  a  little  larger  and  has  more  spots  on  the 
wings.  There  are  a  few  other  varieties,  but  they  "are  not 
often  met  with.  They  resemble  those  we  have  already  de- 
scribed, and  differ  but  slightly  in  size  and  color.  The 
Hipparchia  Nephele,  or  Cloud  butterfly,  is  also  a  beautiful 
variety.  Its  wings  are  of  a  grayish  brown  color,  the  fore 
wings  bordered  with  a  paler  colored  band,  on  which  are  two 
eye-like  spots.  The  under  side  is  marbled  with  shades  of 
brown.  Its  wings  expand  about  two  inches. 

"There  are  many  other  kinds  of  Hipparchians,  but  it 
would  be  impossible  for  me  to  make  you  familiar  with  the 
whole  family." 

The  teacher,  having  finished  his  lecture,  dismissed  the 
boys  ;  but  they  all  remained  for  a  while,  talking  about  the 
Festival  and  the  boating  excursion,  and  about  Annie. 

"We  won't  have  our  Festival  until  Annie  can  go,"  said 
Gilbert. 

"  I  did  n't  try  to  catch  one  of  these  little  dull  butterflies," 
said  Frank ;  "  but  now  the  teacher  calls  them  Quakers  I 
like  them  better." 

"Ah,  Frank  likes  Quakers,"  said  Ben  Wait,  laughing. 

"You    need   n't    laugh,    Ben,    for    I    don't    think    I    do. 


IO4  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

When  my  little  Quaker  cousin  comes  to  see  me  I  'm  sure 
I  don't  like  her,  for  she  gets  all  my  books  and  playthings 
out  of  place.  Then  I  get  mad  and  call  her  Quaker  Mary  ; 
but  she  never  cries  when  I  tease  her,  she  only  smiles  a 
little." 

"O,  Mary  is  too  old  to  care  when  such  a  hop-o-my- 
thumb  as  you  are  teases  her,"  said  Joe  Dane,  a  very 
roguish  fellow,  who  never  said  much,  but  always  listened 
with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye  to  all  the  other  boys'  fun. 

"You  like  Mary,  Joe.  You  came  down  and  played  with 
her  every  day  when  she  was  here  last  Spring,"  said  Frank. 

Now  the  laugh  all  turned  on  Joe,  and  all  the  boys  at 
once  began,  "  Quaker,  Quaker,  Joe  's  a  Quaker." 

"  My  mother  is  a  Quaker,  anyway,"  said  Joe ;  "  and 
Quakers  often  come  to  see  her,  and  I  like  them." 

"  Cousin  Mary  is  coming  to  our  Festival,"  said  Frank  ; 
"  but  the  shy  little  thing  would  not  be  Queen,  so  nobody 
will  have  the  fun  of  catching  her." 

"  I  say,"  said  Hal,  "  our  Queen  must  have  some  Maids 
of  Honor.  We  shall  need  more  than  just  one  Queen,  for 
I  know  I  should  be  mad  at  the  boy  who  caught  her  if 
there  was  nothing  left." 

"The  girls  will  arrange  that  to  suit  themselves,"  said 
Gilbert,  "and  we  must  be  content  with  what  they  give 
us." 

The  boys  were  never  tired  of  talking  about  the  Festival. 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  IO5 

They  almost  forgot  the  boating  on  the  pond,  which  was 
to  take  place  first.  But  to  Frank  this  last  was  an  occasion 
of  great  importance,  partly  because  his  Darning-needle,  as 
he  called  it,  had  been  the  means  of  bringing  it  about. 
"One  more  lesson,  and  then  hurrah  for  the  Dragon-Flies!" 
said  he,  as  the  boys  parted  for  the  night. 


IO6 


THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

SKIPPERS. 

KIPPERS!  What  a  funny  name  for  but- 
terflies ! "  said  Tom,  as  he  and  Hal  were 
getting  ready  for  the  next  class-meeting. 
"I  should  think  grasshoppers  might  well 
be  called  so,  but  I  'm  sure  butterflies 
never  skip." 

"If  you  had  gone  out  with  me  yesterday,  instead  of 
sleeping  under  the  Elm,  you  would  not  wonder  about  the 
name,"  replied  Hal ;  "  the  things  know  how  to  skip  away 
from  one,  anyway,  even  if  they  don't  fly  very  high." 

On  reaching  the  class-room  they  found  the  teacher  had 
not  arrived,  but  all  the  boys  were  gathered  round  Johnny. 
Johnny  had  great  news  to  tell.  Dr.  Grey  had  been  to 
see  Annie  again,  and  had  said  she  was  much,  much  better 
than  he  had  hoped.  He  promised  her  that  in  a  few  weeks 
she  should  walk  without  assistance.  While  the  boys  were 
still  talking  eagerly,  Mr.  Benedict  came  in,  and  listened  to 
what  they  had  to  tell  him  about  their  young  friend.  They 
then  took  their  seats,  and,  after  arranging  the  specimens 
they  had  brought  in,  the  teacher  commenced. 

"I  shall  give  but  one  lesson  about  all  these  butterflies, 


THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS.  IO/ 

.  because,  as  they  are  easily  described  as  a  class,  it  would 
be  useless  and  indeed  almost  impossible  to  describe  each 
variety.  I  shall  mention  a  few  of  the  kinds  most  common 
in  this  vicinity.  There  are  two  kinds  of  butterflies,  the 
True  butterfly,  which  when  lighted  always  holds  its  wings 
erect,  and  the  Skipper,  that  only  erects  the  fore  wings 
when  at  rest.  These  Skippers  are  very  small  insects,  but 
their  body  is  very  robust,  and  they  fly  with  great  rapidity 
and  strength,  not  moving  in  graceful,  wavy  lines  as  the 
True  butterflies  do,  but  skipping  about  with  a  sudden,- 
jerking  motion.  Their  flight  is  very  short  and  almost 

•  always  near  the  ground.  Their  prevailing  color  is  dusky 
brown,  with  pale,  whitish-yellow  or  transparent  spots.  The 
antennae  of  the  Skipper  are  hooked  at  the  end,  which  is 
never  the  case  with  the  True  butterfly. 

One  of  our  largest  and   most   beautiful   Skippers  is   the 


Eudamus  Tityrus. 

Eudamus  Tityrus.     It  expands  over  two  inches.     The  wings 
are  dark,  velvety  brown.     The  fore  pair  are  crossed  by  an 


IO8  THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

orange-colored  band,  which  has  a  metallic  lustre.  Near  the 
tip  of  the  wings  are  a  few  spots  of  the  same  color.  The 
hind  wings  are  tailed,  and  on  the  under  side  are  crossed 
by  a  silvery  band.  The  antennaa  are  hooked,  but  have  no 
knobs.  The  Tityrus  Skipper  appears  about  the  first  of 
July,  and  may  be  found  until  late  in  August,  hovering 
over  Clover  and  sweet-scented  flowers.  Its  flight  is  very 
rapid,  and  although  it  flies  very  near  the  ground  it  is  hard 
to  capture.  I  have  but  one  perfect  pair  in  my  collection. 
This  one  that  Gilbert  has  brought  in  is  very  much  broken 
and  shows  signs  of  having  made  a  hard  fight  for  its  life. 
Eh,  Gilbert?" 

"  Indeed,  Sir,"  said  Gilbert,  "  I  thought  the  thing  would 
struggle  itself  all  to  pieces  before  I  could  put  it  to  sleep." 
"The  Skippers  have  a  very  strong  hold  on  life,"  con- 
tinued the  teacher ;  "  I  have  very  often  had  a  specimen 
ruined  before  I  could  quiet  it.  The  Hesperia  Hobomok 
is  a  very  small  variety  of  Skipper,  expanding  only.,  a  little 

over  one  inch.  It  was  named  by 
Dr.  Harris  after  a  celebrated  In- 
dian chief.  Its  wings  are  dark 
brown,  and  on  the  centre  of  each 
wing  is  a  large  yellow  spot  cover- 

Hesperia  Hobomok.  ™%    alm°St    a11    °f    the     middle    °f 

the  wing.     The  edges  of  the  wings 
have   delicate   fringe,   of   a   lighter   shade   of  brown.      The 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  IOQ 

under  side  of  the  fore  wings  is  like  the  upper,  only  of  a 
more  delicate  shade.  The  hind  pair  are  brown  under- 
neath, and  are  marked  with  a  yellow  spot  and  a  broad 
yellow  band.  The  Hobomok  Skipper  is  found  almost  all 
Summer,  but  it  is  never  very  common. 

"Another  Skipper,  often  found  hovering  over  beds  of 
sweet-scented  field-flowers,  is  the  Hesperia  Peckius,  com- 
monly called  Peck  Skipper.  It  was  named  by  Mr.  Kirby 
in  honor  of  Professor  Peck.  It  expands  only  a  little  over 
one  inch.  Its  wings  are  dark  brown  spotted  with  yellow, 
like  the  Hobomok  Skipper,  only  instead  of  having  one 
large  yellow  spot,  the  Peck  Skipper  has  a  row  of  small 
spots  on  its  fore  wing,  and  on  the  hind  wing  a  row  of 
short,  unequal  yellow  lines.  The  under  side  is  almost  pre- 
cisely like  the  Hobomok  Skipper. 

"I  shall  only  describe  one  more  to  you,  —  the  Hesperia 
Leonardus,  or  Leonard  Skipper.  This  variety  was  also 
named  by  Dr.  Harris.  This  pretty  little  fellow  is  of  the 
same  general  color  as  the  two  last,  but  quite  different  in 
the  marking.  Across  the  fore  wings  is  a  yellow  band, 
and  on  the  front  margin  are  two  small  yellow  spots.  The 
hind  wings  are  also  marked  with  a  yellow  band  near  the 
margin.  The  under  side  of  the  fore  wings  is  of  a  more 
reddish  brown  than  the  upper,  and  the  markings  are  of  a 
paler  yellow.  Underneath  the  hind  wings  is  a  curved  row 
of  yellow  dots.  This  little  Skipper  is  commonly  found  in 
low  lands. 


HO  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

"There  are  a  great  many  more  butterflies  belonging  to 
the  Skipper  family.  One  English  naturalist  describes  as 
many  as  eighty.  I  have  told  you  about  those  which  are 
most  common  in  our  fields  and  meadows,  and  if  you  find 
any  others  you  will  always  know  them  to  be  Skippers  by 
the  position  of  the  wings  when  at  rest. 

"This  is  the  last  lecture  we  shall  have  on  butterflies. 
I  have  not  told  you  about  half  of  the  kinds  which  frequent 
our  fields  and  woods,  but  I  have  endeavored  to  make  you 
familiar  with  those  varieties  you  are  most  likely  to  meet 
with  on  your  walks  to  and  from  school.  I  hope  that  your 
interest  in  the  study  will  increase  so  that  by  next  year 
we  may  examine  more  carefully  all  the  peculiarities  of 
each  insect,  and  extend  our  study  from  those  insects  com- 
mon in  our  own  locality  to  those  of  the  whole  world. 

"  Next  week  we  shall  meet  on  the  shore  of  the  pond 
for  a  lesson  on  Dragon-Flies." 


THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS.  Ill 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

i 

THE   BOATING-PARTY.  —  DRAGON-FLIES. 

•SteNE   pleasant  afternoon  the  boys  all  met  in 
the    grove    on    the    shore    of    the    pond. 
Frank,  as  usual,  was  skipping  about,  and 
had  just  tumbled  and  rolled  over  and  over 
on  the  grass  when  Mr.  Benedict  came  up 
the  lane  and  joined  the  party. 
"  Take   care,   Frankie,"    said   he ;  "  if  you  stand  on  your 
little   feet   in   that  fashion  we   shall   have   to   leave   you   at 
home." 

"O,  I  '11  do  just  what  you  tell  me  to,"  said  Frank. 
Just  then  a  splendid  green  Dragon-Fly  darted  past  them, 
and  Frank  with  a  great  flourish  threw  his  net.      "Hurrah 
for   the  first  specimen ! "  said  he  ;  but  he  looked  suddenly 
very  blank  as  the  insect  quietly  soared  off  over  his  head. 
"Why  did  n't  you  catch  him,  Frankie?"  said  Tom. 
"You  try,  and  then  you  will  know  without  asking,"  re- 
plied Frank.     "But  only  see  how  many  Dragon-Flies  there 
are   off   over   those    blue    Pickerel-Weed    blossoms   in    the 
water." 

"What  did  you  call  those  blue  flowers,  Frank?"  asked 
Tom. 


112  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

"  Why,  Pickerel- Weed  ;  don't  you  know  ?  " 

"No,  I  never  heard  of  any  kind  of  Pickerel  except 
fishes." 

"  Pickerel- Weed  is  only  the  common  name  for  this  blue 
flower,"  said  Mr.  Benedict ;  "  but  it  is  a  very  good  one,  for 
the  Pickerel  always  love  to  hide  away  among  its  long 
roots.  The  proper  name  is  Arrow-head.  There  is  another 
kind  of  Arrow-head  which  bears  a  white  blossom  ;  you 
will  often  see  it  in  damp  ditches  by  the  roadside.  But 
come,  boys  !  we  must  look  for  boats." 

"  I  have  engaged  two  large  boats  for  us,"  said  Gilbert, 
"and  they  are  chained  to  the  branches  of  that  Willow." 

The  party  walked  over  a  bridge  across  a  little  rivulet 
which  emptied  into  the  pond  and  soon  came  to  the  Willow. 
It  was  a  very  large  tree,  growing  out  over  the  water  so 
that  its  sweeping  branches  formed  a  snug  boat-house. 

"I  will  row  one  boat,"  said  the  teacher,  "and  Gilbert 
would  better  row  the  other,  as  he  is  the  largest  of  you, 
and,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  a  good  oarsman  and  swimmer." 

"  O,  I  can  swim  too  ! "  said  many  voices  at  once. 

"I  am  glad  of  that,"  said  the  teacher;  "but  I  sincerely 
hope  it  will  be  an  accomplishment  not  necessary  to  put  in 
practice  to-day.  Still,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  have  one  good 
swimmer  in  each  boat,  for  boats  can  upset  and  boys  can 
fall  into  the  water." 

Without  further  delay 'the  boys  ran  to  the  boats  and 
tumbled  in  over  the  sides. 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  113 

"Lightly,  lightly,"  said  the  teacher,  as  Tom  jumped  down 
from  a  branch  of  the  Willow  and  made  the  boat  rock  from 
side  to  side.  "Now,  boys,"  he  continued,  "seat  yourselves 
so  as  to  balance  the  boat.  Here,  Frank,  you  must  come 
in  my  boat,  so  that  I  can  keep  you  still.  Now  one,  two, 
three  !  " 

And  Mr.  Benedict  and  Gilbert  pushed  away  from  the 
shore.  The  teacher  had  thought  it  best  to  take  boats  to 
hunt  for  Dragon-Flies,  as  the  insects  so  often  flit  off  over 
the  water  far  out  of  reach  of  a  person  hunting  on  the 
bank.  The  party  were  going  now  to  row  round  the  pond 
until  they  were  tired  and  then  anchor  among  the  weeds 
and  Lily-pads  near  the  bank,  and  try  their  luck  with  their 
nets. 

It  was  a  beautiful  day  for  such  an  excursion.  The  sky 
was  full  of  large  rolling  clouds,  and  there  was  no  wind. 
The  boys  were  all  in  fine  spirits,  and  full  of  fun  and  play. 
Some  leaned  over  the  side  of  the  boat  holding  their  hand 
so  that  the  sparkling  water  rippled  through  their  fingers. 
Others  commenced  singing. 

"We  must  give  one  song  to  the  old  flag,  boys,"  said 
Mr.  Benedict,  as  he  pointed  to  the  streamers  with  which 
each  boat  was  dressed. 

"We  '11  rally  round  the  flag,  boys,  we  '11  rally  once; 
again,"  shouted  Hal,  and  every  boy  joined  in.  Their 
young  voices  waked  all  the  echoes  of  the  lake,  and  the^ 
8 


114  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

very  hills  and  woods  rang  back  the  "Battle-cry  of  Free- 
dom." 

World's  End  Pond  was  a  beautiful  spot.  It  was  six 
miles  round.  The  shore  was  rocky  and  the  water  washing 
against  the  ledges  had  hollowed  out  innumerable  little 
caves  into  which  the  water  swashed  with  a  hollow,  gur- 
gling sound  as  the  boats  passed  by.  On  the  opposite  side 
of  the  lake  from  where  they  started  was  what  was  called 
the  inlet.  A  brook  flowed  into  the  pond  here,  and  all 
around  its  mouth  the  shore  was  low  and  marshy.  Here, 
the  teacher  said,  was  the  best  place  to  catch  Dragon- 
Flies,  as  they  delight  to  dart  about  among  the  long  reeds 
and  water-grasses.  The  two  boats  were  pushed  up  among 
the  broad  Lily-pads,  and  anchored  by  means  of  large,  flat 
stones  attached  to  stout  ropes,  to  keep  them  from  drifting 
out  into  the  middle  of  the  pond  on  the  current  of  the 
little  brook. 

"O,  here  they  all  are,"  said  Ben  Wait  "I  hate  the 
long-tailed  things.  I  am  going  to  trap  all  I  can  and 
drown  them  in  the  water." 

He  threw  his  net  for  a  black  and  white  insect  whose 
lace  wings  were  glistening  on  a  reed  near  by. 

"You  won't  throw  that  fellow  into  the  water  anyway," 
said  Hal,  as  he  watched  the  Dragon-Fly  soar  away  over 
the  pond. 

"Now,  boys,"  said  Mr.  Benedict,  "we  must  be  industrious, 


THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS.  115 

for  over  the  top  of  those  hills  I  see  a  showery  cloud  rolling 
up,  and  I  don't  think  a  bath  in  the  boat  would  be  much 
pleasanter  than  one  out  of  it." 

The  boys  now  became  very  quiet.  Kneeling  on  the 
seats,  with  a  skilful  swing  of  their  nets,  they  brought  a 
large  number  of  beautiful  lace-wings  into  the  boat.  Drag- 
on-Flies have  a  strong  hold  on  life,  and  sometimes  it  took 
several  doses  of  ether  to  quiet  the  fluttering  of  their  wings. 
Joe  Dane  had  a  little  brush  attached  to  his  ether  bottle, 
and  he  was  busily  engaged  in  "feeding  one,"  as  he  called 
it  "  Look  how  he  eats  ! "  said  he.  The  boys  all  looked 
with  wonder  at  the  large  savage  jaws  which  the  insect 
was  opening  to  suck  the  brush.  Two  or  three  mouthfuls 
were  enough  to  stiffen  his  wings  forever. 

"Are  there  names  for  each  kind  of  Dragon-Fly,  as  there 
are  for  butterflies,  Mr.  Benedict  ? "  asked  Joe. 

"They  have  scientific  names,"  replied  the  teacher,  "but 
no  common  names  except  what  our  friend  Frank  calls 
them,  Devil's  Darning-needles.  They  belong  to  the  di- 
vision of  Entomology  called  Neuroptera.  When  we  reach 
the  shore  where  you  can  all  hear  me,  I  will  tell  you  about 
the  way  in  which  Dragon-Flies  are  classified.  But,  boys, 
that  shower-cloud  is  increasing  very  rapidly.  We  have  a 
good  half  hour's  pull  between  us  and  the  landing-place, 
and  as  you  have  already  captured  a  large  number  of  speci- 
mens I  think  we  would  better  haul  up  our  anchor  and 
turn  towards  home.  Frank,  you  little  rascal,  sit  still." 


Il6  THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 

Mr.  Benedict's  warning  came  too  late.  Frank  made  a 
bold  spring  for  an  insect  that  was  flying  far  above  his 
head,  and,  losing  his  balance,  fell  into  the  water.  Instant- 
ly Hal  was  over  the  side  of  the  boat  and  both  disappeared 
beneath  the  surface.  For  a  moment  it  seemed  as  if  the 
whole  boat-load  would  follow.  Every  boy  sprang  to  his 
feet,  and  the  boat  rocked  violently  from  side  to  side.  It 
was  all  Mr.  Benedict  could  do  to  control  them.  He  knew 
that  Hal  was  an  expert  swimmer,  and  felt  that  it  was  his 
duty  to  keep  the  boat  from  upsetting.  It  was  only  an 
instant,  although  to  the  boys  who  stood  silent  and  watch- 
ful in  the  boat  it  seemed  an  hour  before  Hal  appeared, 
grasping  Frank  in  one  hand.  He  had  caught  him  just 
as  he  was  going  down. 

"Back!  back  to  the  other  end  of  the  boat!"  shouted  the 
teacher  to  all  the  boys  who  tried  to  rush  to  the  rescue  ; 
"  balance  her  quick  while  I  help  them  in ! " 

Hal  had  already  supported  himself  by  catching  hold  of 
a  piece  of  board  which  lay  among  the  reeds,  and,  pushing 
Frank  towards  Mr.  Benedict,  he  said,  "Look  to  Frank, 
I  can  take  care  of  myself." 

Soon  as  Frank  was  lifted  into  the  boat  he  commenced 
making  a  vigorous  use  of  his  hands  to  clear  the  water 
from  his  face  and  eyes,  while  the  eager,  excited  boys  were 
using  their  handkerchiefs  to  dry  his  hair  and  wipe  his 
clothes.  The  little  fellow  was  not  hurt,  but  somewhat 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.       /  1 1/ 

confused  by  his  sudden  bath.  He  rubbed  his  eyes  and 
looked  all  round,  then  began  to  cry ;  but  his  crying  soon 
changed  to  a  laugh  as  he  saw  the  boys  trying  so  hard  to 
rub  the  water  from  his  clothes.  Meanwhile  Hal,  with  Mr. 
Benedict's  help,  had  got  into  the  boat  again. 

"  O  Hal,  are  you  hurt  ? "  said  Frank,  turning  suddenly 
towards  him. 

"  No,  —  yes,  only  a  scratch,  that  is  all.  I  suppose  I  got 
it  going  down  among  those  bushes." 

Hal's  voice  trembled  with  cold,  and  Mr.  Benedict  insist- 
ed upon  wrapping  his  dry  coat  about  him.  Frank  was 
already  well  provided  for  by  the  other  boys.  By  this  time 
the  sun  had  disappeared,  and  dark,  heavy  clouds  covered 
the  whole  sky. 

"  Now,  Gilbert,"  said  the  teacher,  "  we  must  pull  well  or 
we  shall  all  have  a  bath  as  well  as  Frank  and  Hal,  before 
we  reach  the  landing." 

"I  just  felt  a  drop  on  my  nose,"  said  Ben  Wait. 

Soon  the  rain  began  to  fall  very  fast.  They  were  not 
half-way  across  the  lake,  and  it  was  impossible  to  escape 
a  wetting. 

"We  may  as  well  take  it  easy,  Gilbert,"  said  Mr.  Bene- 
dict as  he  laid  down  his  oars  and  took  breath.  The  boys 
all  gave  a  loud  laugh.  They  made  a  very  funny  picture, 
sitting  in  open  boats  in  the  middle  of  the  pond,  with 
the  rain  pouring  in  little  cascades  from  their  hat-brims. 


Il8  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

"Now  you  are  all  as  badly  off  as  I  am,"  said  little 
Frank  in  an  exultant  tone. 

The  boys  did  not  care  for  the  rain.  They  had  carefully 
covered  up  their  specimens,  and  a  wetting  on  a  warm 
Summer  day  was  only  so  much  fun.  They  were  all  in 
the  best  of  spirits  when  they  reached  the  landing. 

"I  think,  under  the  circumstances,  we  would  better  post- 
pone our  lecture  on  Neuroptera  until  we  meet  in  the 
school-room,"  said  Mr.  Benedict  as  he  gazed  upon  the 
dripping  crowd. 

"  Let  's  all  escort  Frank  home,"  said  Ben  Wait. 

Just  as  they  were  ready  to  start  Frank-  ran  and  slipped 
his  little  plump  hand  into  Hal's,  and  half  whispered,  "I 
was  so  silly  to  tumble  into  the  water  that  I  am  half 
ashamed  to  thank  you,  Hal,  for  pulling  me  out." 

"  No  thanks,  Frankie,"  said  Hal  ;  "  I  only  had  a  good 
ducking,  which  was  very  pleasant  on  such  a  hot  day." 

The  following  afternoon  after  school  Mr.  Benedict  told 
the  boys  if  they  would  remain  a  little  longer  he  would  tell 
them  something  about  the  Dragon-Flies.  The  next  days 
were  to  be  devoted  to  the  school  examinations,  and  after 
that  there  would  be  five  weeks'  vacation,  so  that  this 
seemed  to  be  the  best  time  to  complete  what  the  rain 
had  broken  up  the  day  before.  All  the  boys  were  there. 
Frank  was  just  as  lively  as  ever,  and  Hal,  although  his 
arm  was  still  somewhat  lame  from  the  bruise  he  had  re- 


THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 

ceived,  was  none  the  worse  for  his  sudden  bath.  The  boys 
were  all  glad  to  remain.  Mr.  Benedict  had  taken  all  the 
specimens  home  with  him  the  day  before,  and  had  brought 
them  to  the  school  arranged  in  the  proper  order. 

"  Dragon-Flies  belong  to  the  division  of  Entomology 
called  Neuroptera,"  said  he.  "This  division  includes  all 
insects  having  four  lace  wings,  prominent  jaws,  and  no 
sting.  The  subdivision  to  which  Dragon-Flies  belong  is 
called  Libellulina.  The  Dragon-Fly's  head  is  always  large 
and  his  mouth  is  very  ample.  His  eyes  are  prominent  and 
project  on  each  side  of  his  head.  His  legs  are  short  and 
his  abdomen  very  long.  He  is  a  very  voracious  fellow,  and 
devours  mosquitoes  and  other  small  water-insects  with  great 
eagerness.  His  life  is  spent  darting  over  the  water  and 
marshy  places.  He  flies  very  rapidly  and  with  great 
strength,  and  on  this  account  is  often  seen  far  from  any 
damp  place.  I  have  even  caught  them  flying  about  my 
house  in  the  city,  but  their  home  is  always  by  the  water- 
side. The  worm  and  pupa  of  the  Dragon-Fly  live  in  the 
water,  and  are  nourished  by  minute  aquatic  insects.  They 
resemble  the  perfect  insect,  except  they  are  wingless.  Drag- 
on-Flies, or  Libellulinae,  are  divided  into  two  families,  Agri- 
onidae  and  Libellulidae.  The  Agrionidae  have  a  head  much 
larger  than  the  rest  of  the  body,  their  eyes  are  far  apart, 
and  the  wings  are  generally  narrow  and  very  gauzy,  and 
are  slightly  elevated  when  the  insect  is  at  rest.  Agrioni- 


I2O  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

dae  are  divided  into  three  subdivisions,  the  distinguishing 
points  of  which  I  shall  not  describe  to  you,  as  the  differ- 
ence is  so  slight  you  would  not  be  able  to  understand  it. 
There  are  a  great  many  varieties.  The  most  common  kind 
is  the  Common  Agrion.  Here  is  a  very  fine  specimen. 
You  see  it  has  a  large  head.  Its  body  and  tail  are  black, 
striped  with  bright  green.  The  wings  expand  nearly  four 
inches.  They  look  like  delicate  lace,  but  do  not  break 
easily.  Each  wing  is  marked  with  three  brown  or  black 
blotches  on  the  front  edge.  There  is  another  kind  called 
Gigantic  Agrion.  Its  head  is  large  and  its  eyes  immense. 
It  has  a  yellow  face  and  huge  hairy  jaws  which  open  and 
shut  upon  its  prey  with  great  rapidity.  Its  body  is  gener- 
ally black,  and  sometimes  marked  with  yellow  spots.  The 
wings  are  like  those  of  the  Common  Agrion.  The  Beauti- 
ful Agrion  is  smaller.  It  has  an  azure-blue  body  marked 
with  black,  and  the  markings  on  the  wings  are  delicate 
blue.  This  is  one  of  the  prettiest  Dragon-Flies  we  have. 
Others  belonging  to  this  family  are  red  with  pale-yellow 
wings,  or  black  striped  with  blue  or  yellow.  The  varia- 
tions of  color  are  almost  infinite.  Some  males  are  armed 
with  curved  forceps,  which  look  very  savage,  but  are  harm- 
less. 

"The  Libellulidae  have  broader  wings  than  the  Agrioni- 
dae,  and  during  repose  they  are  placed  horizontally.  The 
males  of  this  family  are  all  armed  with  forceps.  The 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  121 

Libellulidae  are  arranged  by  some  scientific  men  in  six 
groups,  but  only  two  groups  are  generally  recognized,  and 
it  would  be  almost  impossible  for  any  one  but  a  naturalist 
to  distinguish  the  differences  even  between  these.  It  is 
unnecessary  for  such  young  students  as  you  are  to  trouble 
yourselves  at  present  about  these  delicate  distinctions. 

"Some  insects  belonging  to  the  Libellulidae  are  very 
beautiful.  Here  is  one  with  a  blue  head  and  large  green 
eyes,  and  wings  thin  as  a  cobweb.  Here  is  another  which 
is  called  the  Fairy  Libellula.  Its  head  is  green  with  blue 
eyes.  There  is  a  brown  spot  on  its  forehead,  and  the  body 
is  of  the  same  color  and  very  slender.  The  wings  expand 
about  three  inches.  They  are  exquisitely  delicate,  appear- 
ing like  the  finest  lace-work  and  of  a  light  ashy  color, 
which  next  the  body  fades  into  white. 

"There  are  many  other  kinds  which  I  might  describe 
to  you,  my  young  friends,  but  you  will  scarcely  remember 
what  I  have  already  told  you." 

The  boys  had  remained  perfectly  still  while  the  teacher 
was  talking,  and  had  listened  with  great  attention.  Now 
that  he  had  finished  they  all  came  round  his  table  to  ex- 
amine the  specimens  a  few  moments  before  separating  to 
go  home. 


122 


THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

THE    MOUNTAIN    TRAMP. 

the  school  closed  Mr.  Bene- 
dict told  the  boys  that  if  they 
would  like  to  form  a  party  to 
take  a  pedestrian  tour  through  the 
mountains,  he  would  go  with  them. 
He  thought  they  might  be  away  from  home  a  week,  and 
after  that  he  would  have  a  little  time  to  himself  before 
the  commencement  of  the  Autumn  school  term.  A  large 
number  of  boys  were  eager  to  go. 

"  O  Mr.  Benedict !  take  me  with  you ! "  said  little  Frank. 
The  teacher  said  he  did  n't  think  Frank's  mother  would 
let  him  go.     It  would  be  too  hard  for  him  to  walk  so  far. 
"Are    you   going   to   walk   all    the    way,  —  walk   a  whole 
week  ?  "  asked  Frank. 

"  Yes,  my  little  friend  ; '  and  you  are  such  a  Skipper,  you 
would  go  twice  as  far  as  the  rest  of  us." 

"We  do  not  want  anybody  to  take  care  of,"  said  Ben 
Wait.  "  You  ought  not  to  think  of  going,  Frank." 

"  For  shame,  Ben ! "  said  Joe  Dane.  "  Frank  shall  go  if 
he  wants  .to.  If  he  gets  tired,  I  '11  come  home  with  him 
in  the  cars." 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  123 

The  morning  they  were  to  start,  about  a  dozen  boys 
came  to  Mr.  Benedict's  room.  Each  boy  had  a  small 
leather  wallet  slung  on  one  side  to  hold  his  luncheon, 
and  in  addition  they  all  carried  their  butterfly-nets,  for 
they  depended  upon  enriching  their  collection  while  they 
were  away,  if  not  with  new  varieties  still  with  more  perfect 
specimens  of  what  they  already  had.  Frank  was  going 
too.  He  was  very  sure  he  could  walk  as  far  as  any  of 
them. 

It  was  a  very  fair  morning  for  such  a  start.  To  save 
time  they  took  the  cars  for  the  first  twenty  miles,  and 
then,  leaving  the  towns  and  villages  behind  them,  they 
entered  the  mountains.  They  were  all  in  fine  spirits,  and 
walked  with  a  very  quick  step. 

"  I .  say,  boys,"  said  Mr.  Benedict  at  length,  "we  must 
walk  slower.  You  start  as  though  you  were  only  going  to 
the  class-room.  At  this  rate  we  shall  all  give  out  before 
noon,  and  you  know  we  are  starting  for  a  whole  day's 
tramp." 

Frank  was  more  excited  than  any  of  the  others.  He 
talked  all  the  time,  and  asked  questions  about  everything 
they  saw  along  the  road. 

"Frank  seems  to  think  every  new  place  is  full  of  new 
things,"  said  Ben,  who  was  still  a  little  out  of  humor  that 
so  small  a  boy  should  be  one  of  the  party. 

"Well,  I  think  you  are  always  cross,  Ben,"  said  Frank, 
"  and  I  don't  think  that  is  anything  new." 


124  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

"  I  won't  be  cross  any  more,  Frankie,"  said  Ben,  who  by 
this  time  felt  somewhat  ashamed  of  himself.  "  I  did  n't 
want  you  to  come,  because  I  was  afraid  you  would  get 
tired." 

"We  '11  see  who  will  get  tired,"  said  Frank,  laughing. 
The  sharp  little  fellow  knew  that  Ben  was  the  laziest  boy 
in  the  party,  and  he  felt  pretty  sure  of  a  chance  to  pay 
him  back. 

By  noon  they  had  gone  quite  far  up  into  the  mountains, 
and  Mr.  Benedict  ordered  them  to  "  halt "  for  luncheon  by 
the  side  of  a  beautiful  waterfall.  This  waterfall  was  in  a 
shady,  rocky  glen  between  the  mountain  peaks.  It  was 
quite  high,  and  as  the  place  where  the  water  made  its 
leap  was  almost  concealed  by  the  branches  of  the  tall  trees 
which  grew  round  the  foot  of  the  Fall,  the  shower  of 
glittering  diamonds  seemed  to  come  down  from  the  sky. 
The  water  gathered  itself  together  again  in  a  rocky  basin, 
the  sides  of  which  were  covered  with  delicate  ferns,  and 
then  plunging  and  leaping  merrily  over  rocks  and  moss- 
covered  logs,  it  bubbled  onward  to  the  valley  far  below. 
The  boys  seated  themselves  on  the  rocks  near  the  foot 
of  the  Fall,  and  ate  their  luncheon  with  good  appetites. 
They  would  have  been  glad  to  stay  in  the  glen  all  the 
rest  of  the  day,  but  Mr.  Benedict  said  they  must  reach 
the  top  of  the  mountain  before  night.  There  they  would 
find  some  barn  in  which  they  could  sleep.  Before  leaving 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  125 

home  they  had  supplied  their  wallets  with  two  days'  pro- 
visions. 

"Perhaps  we  shall  find  the  hermit  of  the  Deserted  Vil- 
lage," said  Mr.  Benedict. 

"  Why,  teacher,  what  's  that  ? "  asked  little  Frank. 

"It  is  an  old  man  who  lives  alone  with  his  dog  on  the 
top  of  the  mountain,"  replied  the  teacher.  "  Long  ago 
there  were  some  mills  for  washing  and  melting  iron  ore 
up  there,  and  around  them  a  collection  of  huts.  Mill  and 
hut  are  deserted  now,  and  this  old  man  lives  there  alone. 
I  visited  him  last  Summer,  and  if  he  survived  the  cold  of 
the  past  Winter  we  shall  find  him  there  still." 

The  boys  travelled  on  all  the  afternoon.  Now  and  then 
they  were  drawn  aside  from  the  path  in  pursuit  of  some 
butterfly,  and  Hal  was  so  fortunate  as  to  secure  a  very 
fine  specimen  of  the  Hipparchia  Semidia,  or  Mountain 
butterfly  described  in  Chapter  Fifteenth.  He  saw  a  pair 
of  the  fairy-like  creatures  hovering  over  a  bush  in  the 
shade  of  a  tall  tree,  and  succeeded  in  capturing  one  of 
them.  The  other  floated  away  out  of  his  reach. 

The  sun  had  'set,  its  parting  rays  bathing  the  plain  be- 
low and  the  sky  above  in  a  splendor  of  gold  and  purple, 
and  twilight  was  changing  into  moonlight,  when  our  party 
passed  out  of  the  woods  and  stopped  on  the  shore  of  quite 
a  large  pond.  Near  by  they  could  see  the  outline  of  about 
twenty  huts,  and  in  the  window  of  one  of  them  a  faint 
light  was  twinkling:. 


126  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

"The  old  man  is  at  home,"  said  Mr.  Benedict. 

Just  then  a  large  dog  came  bounding  towards  the  boys, 
barking  and  showing  his  teeth.  "  Hallo,  Touzer.  Good 
fellow ! "  said  Mr.  Benedict,  advancing  to  meet  him.  On 
hearing  his  name,  the  dog  stopped  and  gave  one  sniff  at 
Mr.  Benedict's  hand  which  was  extended  towards  him, 
then  bounded  upon  him  and  thrust  his  rough  tongue 
against  his  cheek,  uttering  all  the  while  little  short,  quick 
barks  of  joy.  By  this  time  the  hermit  himself  had  come 
out  to  meet  the  party.  He  recognized  the  teacher  at  once, 
and  heartily  welcomed  him  and  all  his  young  companions 
to  the  shelter  of  his  hut. 

"When  I  heard  Touzer's  little  short  ivujf,  ivuff,  I  know'd 
't  was  a  friend  a  comin'.  He  knows  who  's  who,  Touzer 
does.  You  ought  to  see  that  dog  when  he  thinks  there  's 
mischief  brewin',"  said  the  old  man. 

"Do  you  ever  have  any  troublesome  visitors  in  this 
quiet  place  ? "  asked  the  teacher. 

"  Well,  no,  not  exactly  ;  only  'tain't  so  far  from  the  village 
but  what  the  boys,  they  stray  up  here  now  and  then, 
when  they  're  gunnin'  and  the  like,  and  they  try  to  tor- 
ment 'an  old  chap  like  me.  The  ypung  'uns  don't  mean 
no  harm,  only  mischief;  but  Touzer,  he  don't  understand 
it,  and  the  way  he  sets  their  heels  a  flyin'  down  that  steep 
path  is  a  good  'un." 

All  the  while  he  was  talking  the  old  man  bustled  round 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  I2/ 

his  hut.  He  livened  up  his  fire  and  soon  produced  a  string 
of  fine  Pickerel  he  had  caught  that  afternoon  in  the  pond. 

"  My  good  friend,"  said  Mr.  Benedict,  "  we  did  not  come 
to  ask  your  hospitality  to  such  an  extent.  My  boys  are 
all  provided  with  supper  and  breakfast,  and  would  be  very 
glad  to  have  you  share  it  with  them." 

But  the  old  man  still  kept  on  preparing  his  Pickerel  for 
the  fire.  "  If  your  young  gentlemen  will  eat  up  the  critters, 
it  '11  save  my  trampin'  to'  the  village  with  'em  in  the  morn- 
in',"  said  he. 

Meanwhile  the  boys  were  all  resting  after  the  long  walk. 
Some  were  sitting  round  the  door  of  the  hut,  enjoying 
the  bright  moonlight,  others  had  gone  to  bathe  their  tired 
feet  in  the  cool  water  of  the  pond.  While  little  Frank, 
who  did  not  seem  at  all  weary,  was  becoming  very  friendly 
with  Touzer,  rolling  over  and  over  with  him  on  the  floor, 
and  hiding  his  curly  head  in  the  dog's  long  fur.  The  old 
man  watched  the  playfellows  with  great  delight.  "Touzer 
never  '11  forget  you,  little  fellow,  see  if  he  does."  And  the 
hermit  worked  away  at  his  fish,  boasting  all  the  while 
about  the  exceeding  wit  and  wisdom  of  Touzer.  At  last 
all  was  ready,  and  never  did  morsel  taste  so  sweet  as  did 
the  Pickerel  to  the  hungry  boys.  They  all  fell  to,  and 
"did  very  well  without  fork  or  knife." 

After  their  repast  they  chose  their  sleeping-places.  Some 
went  to  one  of  the  other  huts  ne.ar  by,  which,  although 


128  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

the  doors  and  windows  were  gone,  still  afforded  very  good 
shelter  on  a  warm  Summer  night.  Little  Frank  declared 
his  decision  to  "  stay  with  Touzer,"  and  curling  down  beside 
the  dog  was  soon  sound  asleep. 

The  boys  all  waked  very  early  the  next  morning  and 
sprang  up  to  enjoy  the  beautiful  panorama  spread  out 
before  their  eyes.  Along  the  horizon  stretched  a  blue 
range  of  mountains,  whose  peaks  were  partially  concealed 
by  the  white  morning  mist  ;  in  the  middle  distance  broad 
fields  and  hills  were  interspersed  in  beautiful  variety,  and 
here  and  there  a  dot  or  a  line  of  mist  indicated  the  loca- 
tion of  a  pond  or  the  course  of  some  winding  river.  The 
boys  performed  their  toilet  on  the  shore  of  the  pond,  and 
then  proceeded  to  look  about  the  Deserted  Village.  The 
huts  were  scattered  about  over  an  open  space  of  ground 
on  .  the  summit  of  the  mountain.  The  view  on  one  hand 
was  shut  off  by  the  tall  forest  trees,  but  on  the  side  to- 
wards the  pond  the  land  was  all  open  and  very  rocky. 
Very  beautiful  pictures  the  inhabitants  of  the  Village  must 
have  had  spread  out  before  them  as  the  changing  seasons 
produced  ever  new  tints  and  variations  of  light  and  shade 
on  the  glorious  panorama  at  their  feet. 

Our  party  found  little  to  interest  them  about  the  huts. 
They  were  mere  empty  sheds  without  windows  and  doors, 
and  many  of  them  were  roofless.  But  the  old  mills  were 
matters  of  great  interest.,  They  were  very  picturesque,  the 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  1 29 

boarding  of  the  sides  having  nearly  all  fallen  off,  leaving 
a  mere  skeleton  of  beams,  inside  of  which  were  many 
remains  of  the  works,  old  shafts,  pieces  of  broken  wheels, 
and  other  things,  all  fallen  together  and  overgrown  with 
moss.  The  mills  were  built  over  the  brook  which  flowed 
from  the  pond,  and  the  water  gushed  through  the  old 
buildings,  foaming  and  sparkling  over  the  broken  and 
silent  water-wheel,  which  lay  motionless,  its  iron  shaft 
rusted  fast.  The  boys  thought  they  never  had  seen  such 
a  place  to  play  in  before,  and  even  Gilbert  forgot  his. 
assumed  dignity  as  the  oldest  of  the  boys,  and  was  down 
on  his  knees  digging  out  an  old  wheel,  when  Mr.  Benedict 
came  in  search  of  his  young  companions.  He  said  if  they 
wanted  to  reach  the  Falls  House  that  day  they  must  be 
off.  None  of  the  boys  were  ready  to  leave  the  Deserted- 
Village,  and  little  Frank  could  hardly  help  crying  when 
Touzer  put  his  big  nose  close  to  his  face  and  barked 
an  affectionate  good-by.  Mr.  Benedict,  however,  thought 
it  unwise  to  remain  any  longer;  so,  after  thanking  their 
kind  host  for  his  attention,  the  boys  set  out  for  another 
day's  walk.  It  did  not  come  quite  so  easy  as  when  they 
first  started,  and  they  walked  with  a  much  slower  step.. 
Still,  not  one  was  willing  to  be  the  first  to  say  he  was- 
tired. 

Their  road  wound    along  on   the   top   of   the   mountains 
range,  and   the   morning  air  was  fresh   and   cool.      It  was*- 
9 


130  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

nearly  noon  when  Ben  Wait  finally  said  :  "  Teacher,  is  n't 
it  almost  luncheon  time  ? " 

Mr.  Benedict  said  soon  as  they  came  to  a  pleasant  place 
where  there  was  a  spring  of  water  they  would  stop.  It 
was  not  long  before  such  a  place  was  found.  The  boys 
were  all  glad  to  lie  down  on  the  soft,  green  turf,  and  for 
once  little  Frank  sat  still  while  he  ate  his  sandwiches  and 
cake.  As  soon  as  they  were  eaten,  however,  he  was  up 
and  dancing  round  again.  He  had  taken  his  net  and 
made  several  fruitless  attempts  to  capture  some  little  but- 
terfly flitting  past,  and  finally  threw  it  down  impatiently 
over  a  bush,  when  something  fluttered  heavily  into  it. 

"  O  teacher !  O  Hal !  come  here,  quick ! "  screamed  little 
Frank,  while  he  tried  with  his  own  little  hands  to  secure 
the  large  green  insect  fluttering  in  his  net.  Mr.  Benedict 
was  there  in  a  moment. 

"Let  me  manage  him,  Frank,"  said  he.  After  a  dose 
of  ether  the  large,  beautiful  creature  lay  quiet  in  the  net, 
and  Mr.  Benedict's  ready  fingers  soon  transferred  him  to 
the  cork.  His  delicate  wings  were  spread  out  and  fastened 
in  place  with  pins,  and  he  was  carefully  placed  in  the 
large  box  where  they  carried  their  specimens. 

"That  is  a  Luna  moth,  my  boy,"  said  Mr.  Benedict,  in 
reply  to  Frank's  eager  inquiry.  "  He  must  have  been 
hiding  through  the  day  among  the  leaves  of  that  shrub, 
and  your  net  falling  over  it  disturbed  him." 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  13! 

It  was  now  time  to  go  on,  and  the  boys  were  quite 
ready. 

"  Why,  where  is  Ben  ? "  said  the  teacher,  as  he  looked 
round  on  his  little  band. 

"  Here  are  his  boots  down  behind  this  rock,"  said  Hal ; 
"he  can't  have  gone  very  far  barefoot." 

"  No,  indeed,"  said  Joe  Dane ;  "  he  is  too  tender  of  his 
feet  for  that." 

"  Here  he  is,  and  fast  asleep  too ! "  shouted  little  Frank, 
who  was  skipping  about  among  the  bushes.  "Come,  Ben, 
poor  Ben,  wake  up,"  and  Frank  seized  the  sleepy  boy's 
hand  and  tugged  at  it  with  all  his  little  strength. 

"Let  me  alone,"  grunted  Ben.  But  the  loud  laugh  of 
all  the  boys  soon  roused  him  from  his  slumbers.  He  sat 
up  and  tried  to  rub  open  his  sleepy  eyes. 

"We  are  all  waiting  for  you,  Ben,"  said  the  teacher  in  a 
pleasant  voice ;  "  rouse  up  and  put  on  your  boots." 

"  I  can't  put  'em  on,"  whimpered  Ben ;  "  my  feet  are  all 
covered  with  blisters  now." 

"Such  a  little  fellow  as  you  are,  Ben,  ought  to  have 
stayed  at  home,"  said  Joe  Dane,  in  a  hectoring  tone. 

Frank  began  to  feel  sorry,  and,  creeping  up  to  the  lazy 
boy's  side,  he  said :  "  I  'm  sorry,  Ben,  you  are  so  tired, 
but  I  don't  believe  the  boot  will  hurt  you  much.  I  '11 
carry  your  bag  and  net  if  you  will  let  me." 

By  this  time  Ben  was  fully  awake,  and  with  Mr.  Bene- 


132  THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 

diet's  help  got  his  boots  on  and  started  off  with  the  rest, 
although  he  made  a  great  show  of  limping  and  was  pretty 
silent  all  the  rest  of  the  day.  Some  time  before  sunset  the 
party  reached  the  Falls  House,  which  was  a  small  country 
hotel.  It  stood  in  a  beautiful  spot,  at  the  foot  of  a  deep, 
rocky  gorge,  and  from  its  windows  could  be  seen  the 
waterfall  which  gave  the  name  to  the  house.  All  around 
rose  the  grand  old  rocky  forms  of  mountains,  some  covered 
with  heavy  forests,  others  with  sides  of  bare  precipitous 
rock,  supporting  nothing  save  a  few  creeping  brambles. 
The  boys  were  all  very  glad  to  eat  a  hot  supper  and  go 
to  bed.  Hal  and  Johnny  Webb  stayed  up  longer  than 
the  rest  and  went  out  on  to  a  rustic  bridge  near  by  to  see 
the  Falls  by  moonlight.  It  was  very  still ;  not  a  sound 
could  be  heard  except  the  splash  of  the  water  as  it  leaped 
over  the  rocks.  The  boys  sat  a  long  time  without  speak- 
ing. Johnny  was  thinking  of  his  sister  Annie  at  home, 
and  wondering  if  next  Summer  she  would  be  strong 
enough  to  visit  this  beautiful  place  with  him.  At  last 
Mr.  Benedict  came  out  to  bring  them  in,  for  in  the  morn- 
ing they  were  going  through  the  gorge,  and  some  rest 
was  necessary  to  prepare  them  for  it.  There  were  quite 
a  number  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  at  the  hotel,  who  were 
going  through  the  gorge  at  the  same  time,  and  they  were 
glad  to  have  our  merry  young  folks  join  the  party. 

The  next  morning   the  boys  were  all   rested,  and   even 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  133 

Ben  was  bright  and  good-natured.  The  walk  over  the 
mountain  to  the  other  end  of  the  gorge  was  rather  hard 
climbing,  and  several  of  the  ladies  grew  discouraged  and 
preferred  remaining  on  the  top  of  the  cliff  to  going  on 
any  farther.  It  was  a  dizzy  place,  for  on  one  side  the 
precipice  was  many  hundred  feet  high,  and  so  perpendicu- 
lar that  a  plumb-line  might  swing  clear  almost  to  the 
bottom.  Some  of  the  more  daring  ones  crept  to  the  edge 
and  looked  over  at  the  torrent  rushing  at  the  bottom  of 
the  gorge  far  below.  The  boys  all  had  their  nets,  but 
used  them  to  little  purpose,  as  here  among  the  rocks  and 
briers  there  was  no  opportunity  to  give  chase  to  the  shy 
insects. 

"There,"  said  Frank,  to  a  gentleman  who  had  taken  a 
great  fancy  to  him,  and  talked  with  him  all  the  way  over 
the  mountain,  — "  there,  I  lost  that  fellow ! " 

"  What  do  you  want  it  for,  my  boy  ? "  asked  the  gentle- 
man. 

"  O,  we  boys  are  studying  Lepidoptera,"  said  Frank, 
twisting  his  little  tongue  slowly  and  with  great  effort  round 
the  big  word,  "and  we  came  on  this  pedestrian  tour 
(Frank  was  bound  to  do  credit  to  his  teaching)  on  pur- 
pose to  get  new  specimens." 

He  then  told  all  about  their  collection,  and  promised  to 
show  it  .to  the  gentleman  when  they  returned  to  the  hotel. 
Just  then  another  butterfly  darted  past  them,  for  which 
Frank  threw  his  net  but  missed  again. 


134  THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

"I  don't  care  about  that  one.  It  was  a  Hunter's  Butter- 
fly, and  I  have  some  like  it  at  home,"  said  he. 

"You  know  the  names  much  better  than  I  do,  my  little 
man,"  replied  the  gentleman. 

The  whole  party  were  now  at  the  head  of  the  gorge. 
Some  of  the  ladies  looked  fearfully  at  the  slippery  logs 
and  rocks  over  which  they  must  walk,  and  decided  to  go 
back  the  way  they  came.  The  teacher  suggested  that 
Frank  would  better  go  back  over  the  mountain  too,  for 
the  stream  was  much  swollen  with  late  rains,  and  he  was 
afraid  he  could  not  safely  take  the  little  fellow  through 
the  gorge ;  but  Frank  pleaded  so  hard  that  Mr.  Benedict 
finally  consented,  after  a  promise  from  him  that  he  would 
keep  hold  of  his  hand  all  the  way  and  not  skip  about  as 
was  his  wont.  And,  indeed,  there  was  little  chance  to  skip 
about  here.  Their  way  led  over  logs  so  slippery  that 
every  step  must  be  made  with  care,  or  a  plunge  in  the 
water  would  surely  follow.  To  be  sure,  the  water  was  not 
deep,  but  our  travellers  did  not  care  to  get  a  wetting  just 
then.  After  they  had  passed  the  logs  they  came  to  the 
rocks,  which  were  still  worse,  as  the  moss  on  them  was 
so  soft  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  get  a  foothold. 
The  boys  enjoyed  it  immensely.  It  was  excellent  fun 
climbing  where  every  step  was  dangerous.  When  they 
were  tired  they  sat  down  to  enjoy  the  grandeur  and 
beauty  of  the  scene.  The  cliffs  covered  with  richest  ferns 


THE   BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  135 

and  mosses,  rose  many  hundred  feet  on  each  side,  and  at 
the  bottom  of  the  gorge,  not  far  below,  the  stream  rushed 
rapidly  between  its  rocky  banks. 

One  of  the  gentlemen  who  had  gone  in  advance  of  the 
others  shouted  back  that  the  root  ladder  was  covered  with 
water,  and  that  a  new  path  would  have  to  be  made.  Make 
a  new  path,  indeed,  when  there  was  nothing  but  bare 
precipice  to  work  with  !  The  ladies  who  had  been  cour- 
ageous enough  to  attempt  the  passage  of  the  gorge  sat 
down  and  waited  while  the  gentlemen  hunted  for  a  path. 
They  finally  gave  it  up,  but  said  there  was  a  long  tree- 
stump  leaning  against  the  rock,  which  possibly  they  might 
all  slide  down  on.  Anyway  it  was  thought  best  to  try  it, 
and  amidst  a  great  deal  of  merriment  the  passage  was 
actually  accomplished.  The  poor  old  tree-stump  which, 
previous  to  the  slide  bore  a  luxuriant  coating  of  rich  green 
moss,  was  stripped  bare,  and  the  clothes  of  all  the  party 
bore  open  testimony  of  the  manner  in  which  they  had 
embraced  the  stump  in  their  passage.  Frank  was  so 
covered  that  Joe  Dane  said  he  could  think  of  nothing  in 
the  world  but  a  green  turtle  every  time  he  looked  at  him. 
The  party  passed  through  the  remainder  of  the  gorge  and 
reached  the  hotel  without  any  further  adventures. 

After  supper  that  night  Mr.  Benedict  proposed  to  the 
boys  that,  as  the  scenery  was  so  beautiful  here,  they  should 
remain  at  the  Falls  House  during  the  rest  of  their  week, 


136  THE   BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 

making  excursions  round  on  the  mountains  whenever  they 
felt  inclined.  When  their  week  was  up  they  could  go 
directly  home  in  the  steam-cars.  The  boys  all  agreed 
heartily  to  this  plan,  for  they  had  not  seen  half  enough 
of  the  gorge  nor  of  the  mountains  around  it. 

"  I  think  I  should  like  to  pedestrian  a  little  longer," 
said  Frank,  with  a  comical  smile ;  "  but  I  'm  willing  to 
stay  here,  as  Ben  is  so  tired." 

They  all  laughed  at  Frank's  ready  jokes,  and  Ben  joined 
with  them. 

"I  shall  always  after  this  vote  for  Frank,"  said  he,  "for 
you  can  neither  drown  him  nor  get  him  tired.  I  dare 
say  his  feet  have  not  a  single  blister  on  them." 

After  a  few  more  days  of  delightful  scrambling  over  the 
rocks,  Mr.  Benedict  and  his  young  pupils  bid  good  by 
to  the  mountains  and  reached  home  in  safety.  Then  came 
four  long  weeks  of  vacation.  The  teacher  was  away,  and 
many  of  the  boys  had  gone  off  in  various  directions.  Tom 
and  Hal  were  too  much  interested  in  Annie  to  care  to 
leave  her  again.  Of  course  Johnny  stayed  at  home,  and 
the  three  boys,  together  with  Rose,  spent  many  long  quiet 
hours  in  Annie's  room.  They  brought  all  their  butterflies 
here  and  arranged  them  neatly  in  the  cases  they  had 
made  for  their  collection.  These  cases  were  large,  deep 
frames,  with  corks  firmly  glued  on  to  the  back  at  suitable 
intervals  for  the  different  sized  butterflies.  They  placed 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  137 

the  largest  butterflies  in  the  centre  and  the  smaller  ones 
all  round,  leaving  spaces  here  and  there  for  large  moths 
they  hoped  to  capture.  Some  of  Annie's  chrysalids  had 
opened,  affording  very  perfect  specimens  to  add  to  the 
boys'  collections. 

As  to  Annie  herself,  she  was  rapidly  improving  and  was 
now  well  enough  to  sit  up  in  her  chair,  but  the  Doctor 
had  not  yet  allowed  her  to  stand  on  her  foot ;  she  must 
have  patience  a  few  weeks  more,  he  said,  and  then  — 

Meanwhile  in  quiet  pleasure  and  anticipation  the  long 
Summer  days  of  vacation  wore  away. 


138  THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

ABOUT    MOTHS. 

FTER  the  long  vacation  it  was  pleasant  for 
the  boys  to  meet  once  more  in  the  old 
class-room.  They  were  rested  and  refreshed 
in  body  and  mind,  and  full  of  eagerness  to 
hear  what  Mr.  Benedict  had  to  tell  them 
about  the  moths.  During  the  long  tramp  over  the  moun- 
tains they  had  added  many  rare  and  beautiful  specimens 
to  their  butterfly  collection,  and  succeeded  in  procuring 
many  perfect  pairs  of  varieties  they  had  previously  found 
at  home. 

They  were  already  in  their  seats  when  Mr.  Benedict 
came  in.  He  did  not  commence  at  once  to  tell  them 
about  the  moths,  but  spent  a  half-hour  in  reviewing  the 
general  facts  relating  to  butterflies,  which  they  had  learned 
during  the  Spring  and  Summer. 

"I  think  I  have  described  to  you  the  difference,"  said 
he,  at  length,  "between  the  moth  and  butterfly  when  at 
rest.  The  True  butterfly  holds  both  pairs  of  wings  up- 
right, the  Skipper  elevates  the  fore  pair  only,  and  the 
moth  holds  both  pair  horizontally,  folding  the  fore  wings 
backward  so  as  to  nearly  or  quite  conceal  the  hind  pair. 


THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS.  139 

I  do  not  think  you  will  feel  as  much  interest  just  now  in 
this  division  of  Lepidoptera  as  you  did  in  the  butterflies, 
or  Papiliones.  The  moths  are  very  beautiful,  but  it  is 
not  so  easy  for  such  boys  as  you  are  to  capture  them,  as 
they  do  not  fly  in  the  warm  sunshine,  but  creep  out  after 
nightfall.  You  will  now  and  then  find  one  nestled  in  a 
dark  corner  under  some  leaf  or  behind  the  window  shut- 
ters, and  in  going  about  among  bushes  I  have  often  dis- 
turbed some  old  fellow  who  had  settled  down  cosily  to 
sleep  away  the  day,  and  sent  him  flying  out  into  the 
sunlight.  In  cases  like  this  they  are  easily  caught,  for 
they  cannot  see  well  in  the  daytime,  and  fly  blindly  this 
way  and  that.  Moths  are  divided  into  two  great  classes, — 
Hawk-moths,  or  Sphinxes,  and  Moths,  or  Phalsenae.  These 
two  classes  are  subdivided  into  many  smaller  classes,  in 
regard  to  which  nearly  all  naturalists  differ  in  opinion.  It 
is  unnecessary  for  you  to  learn  all  these  sub-divisions  at 
present.  I  shall  only  tell  you  the  names  and,  as  far  as  I 
can,  the  habits  of  a  few  of  the  more  common  kinds  and 
of  some  of  the  largest  and  most  beautiful  varieties. 

"No  doubt  you  have  all  heard  about  the  troublesome 
little  moths  that  destroy  our  fur  caps  and  cloth  coats,  but 
perhaps  you  do  not  know  that  the  moth  which  lives  upon 
woollen  cloth  is  a  different  variety  from  that  which  eats 
the  furs.  They  all  belong  to  the  genus  Tinea.  These 
little  creatures  are  very  small,  and  there  is  nothing  es- 


I4O  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

pecially  interesting  in  their  habits,  so  we  will  pass  them 
by  and  learn  something  about  the  Spinners,  or  Bombyces. 
The  silkworms  belong  to  this  class.  The  moth  of  the 
variety  cultivated  in  the  United  States  is  very  insignifi- 
cant, but  the  moth  of  the  Japanese  silkworm  is  large 
and  very  beautiful.  The  moth  you  caught  among  those 
bushes,  Frank,  was  a  Spinner." 

"  Can  that  fellow  make  silk,  teacher  ? "  asked  Frank. 
"  If  he  can,  I  want  to  know  all  about  it,  only  please  don't 
call  him  a  worm,  as  you  did  the  silkworms." 

Little  Frank  never  lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  he  was 
the  sworn  enemy  of  worms  and  caterpillars. 

"That  moth,  Frank,  does  not  spin  silk  that  is  made 
use  of  like  the  silkworm.  It  is  possible  that  the  silk  is 
strong,  but  the  caterpillars  of  our  common  moths  do  not 
bear  confinement  under  any  system  of  treatment  and  feed- 
ing already  tested,  and  on  this  account  the  silk  has  never 
received  a  fair  trial.  It  is  produced  in  such  small  quan- 
tities by  the  caterpillars  of  most  moths,  that  it  does  not 
seem  worth  while  to  take  much  trouble  to  make  the  trial. 
And  you  know,  Frank,  that  the  moth  in  the  winged  state 
does  not  spin.  It  is  the  worm  or  caterpillar  that  makes 
the  cocoon.  All  moths  do  not  form  cocoons.  Some  of 
them  go  into  the  ground  and  form  themselves  into  large, 
shiny  brown  chrysalids,  from  which,  at  the  proper  season, 
the  moth  comes  forth,  and  makes  its  way  to  the  surface 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  14! 

of  the  earth.  These  moths  which  come,  as  it  were,  out 
of  the  ground  are  not  often  brilliant  in  color,  but  their 
wings  are  a  beautiful  mixture  of  black,  gray,  and  white. 
Now,  Frank,  we  will  see  what  we  can  learn  about  your 
green  moth." 

Mr.  Benedict  had  arranged  it  very  handsomely  in  a 
box,  and  he  now  held  it  so  that  all  the  boys  could  ex- 
amine it. 

"  It  is  called  the  Attacus  Luna,"  he  continued,  "  and  is, 
I  think,  the  most  beautiful  of  all  our  moths.  It  is  not  as 
brilliant,  nor  quite  so  large  as  some  others,  but  the  ex- 
quisite delicacy  of  its  wings  both  in  texture  and  tint 
surpasses  that  of  any  other  variety  that  flies  here.  The 
wings  expand  about  five  inches.  They  are  of 'a  pale,  deli- 
cate green  color.  Along  the  front  edge  of  the  fore  wings 
is  a  broad  border  of  purple,  and  the  hind  wings  are  tipped 
with  the  same  color  all  round.  In  the  centre  of  each  wing 
is  a  transparent  eye-like  spot,  encircled  by  a  ring  of  black 
and  yellow  on  the  upper  side  of  the  wing,  and  white  be- 
neath. Each  hind  wing  has  a  tail  almost  two  inches  in 
length.  The  body  of  the  Luna  moth  is  very  large  and 
thickly  covered  with  white  down.  The  antennae  are  yellow 
and  beautifully  feathered,  and  the  legs  are  purple  like  the 
border.  The  worm  of  this  moth  lives  on  Walnut-trees. 
It  is  a  large,  ugly-looking  fellow,  with  a  very  thick  body 
several  inches  long.  It  forms  its  cocoon  by  tying  several 


142 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 


Attacus  Luna, 


leaves  xogether  and  creepir>£  into  the  little  cell  inside  them, 
where  it  spins  fc»  shroud.     If  you  hunt  carefully  when  you 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  143 

are  out  nutting  in  the  Autumn,  you  will  find  the  cocoons 
fallen  among  the  dead  leaves.  They  are  of  the  same  dull 
brown  color  as  the  leaves,  and  are  not  very  easy  to  dis- 
tinguish from  them.  I  found  one  of  these  cocoons  once 
in  the  early  Spring,  when  the  snow  had  just  left  the 
ground.  It  was  about  the  first  of  April.  I  carried  it  home 
and  placed  it  under  a  glass  on  the  top  of  my  secretary. 
Here  it  remained  until  the  last  of  May,  and  I  had  for- 
gotten all  about  it,  when  one  day  as  I  was  sitting  at  my 
desk  writing  I  was  startled  by  a  loud  crackling  sound. 
It  was  several  minutes  before  I  perceived  that  it  came 
from  my  cocoon.  I  at  last  saw  that  the  cocoon  was 
moving  slightly.  As  I  watched  it  the  motion  gradually 
increased,  and  in  about  half  an  hour  the  cocoon  burst, 
and  an  unsightly  thing  crawled  forth.  It  appeared  like 
a  large  white  worm  with  two  flippers,  I  might  call  them, 
in  the  place  where  the  wings  were  to  be.  These  flippers 
were  not  much  larger  than  the  antennae  which,  at  the 
very  first,  were  broad  and  feathered.  The  creature  moved 
vigorously  about  and  tried  to  attach  itself  to  the  top  of 
the  glass,  but  the  smooth  surface  afforded  nothing  to  which 
its  feet  could  cling,  so  I  removed  the  glass  and  put  in  its 
place  a  small  osier  basket  of  openwork.  Very  soon  the 
insect  suspended  itself  to  the  top  of  the  basket,  and  its 
wings  commenced  to  expand.  As  they  opened,  the  delicate 
green  color,  of  which  there  was  no  appearance  at  first, 


144  THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 

began  to  show  itself.  The  moth  clung  to  the  top  of  the 
basket,  opening  its  wings  broader  and  broader,  until  it 
seemed  a  marvel  that  so  much  could  have  been  contained 
in  the  small,  colorless  bunches  which  were  all  that  indicated 
the  wings  at  the  time  of  its  birth.  At  first  the  wings 
were  crumpled  like  the  leaves  of  a  Poppy  when  it  first 
drops  its  calyx  and  opens  to  the  warm  rays  of  the  sun, 
but  as  the  air  gradually  dried  them  they  smoothed  them- 
selves out,  and  at  last  the  perfect  moth  stood  before  me. 
Poor  fellow ;  his  was  a  short  life.  Fearful  that  in  fluttering 
to  escape  he  might  injure  his  delicate  wings,  I  gave  him 
his  first  and  last  food;  a  drop  of  ether,  and  consigned  him 
to  a  prominent  place  in  my  collection." 

The  boys  had  listened  very  eagerly  to  this  description. 
Soon  as  Mr.  Benedict  stopped  talking  little  Frank  burst 
out  with  a  question,  which  set  the  whole  school  into  a 
roar  of  laughter. 

"  O  teacher ! "  said  he,  "  do  you  really  suppose  my  moth 
was  born  that  way  ? " 

"Yes,  Frank,  of  course  he  was,  only  instead  of  a  basket 
he  probably  had  a  cosey  green  arbor  among  the  leaves  of 
some  bush  in  which  to  expand  and  dry  his  wings." 

The  teacher  then  told  the  boys  that  he  should  wait  until 
the  next  meeting  before  telling  them  about  the  other 
moths  belonging  to  the  genus  Attacus.  When  they  met 
next  time  he  thought  he  could  finish  all  he  intended  to 


THE   BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  145 

say  about  the   moths,  and  after   that  they  might   plan  for 
their  Festival. 

"And   after  that,"   said   Tom,  with  a  long  sigh,  "I  am 
going  home." 


10 


146  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

CHAPTER    XX. 

ABOUT  MOTHS  —  Continued. 

HE  class  were  not  able  to  bring  any  specimens 
of  moths  to  the  next  meeting.  Mr.  Benedict 
had  foreseen  this  difficulty  and  had  provided 
himself  with  specimens  from  his  own  collection. 
"  I  have  already  described  the  Attacus  Luna,"  said  he, 
"and  to-day  I  purpose  telling  you  about  the  others  of 
that  genus.  They  all  belong  to  the  grand  family  of  Spin- 
ners, or  Bombyces.  There  are  four  large  and  magnificent 
insects  belonging  to  the  genus  Attacus,  all  of  which  I 
have  captured  myself  in  this  locality.  The  Luna,  Cecro- 
pia,  Promethia,  and  Polyphemus.  The  Attacus  Cecropia  is 
quite  as  large  as  the  Luna.  Its  wings  often  expand  over 
six  inches.  Their  color  is  reddish  brown  with  a  drab  mar- 
gin, through  which  runs  a  black  line.  The  hind  wings 
are  rounded,  and  this  line  follows  the  outline  of  the  edge, 
but  on  the  fore  wings  it  is  deeply  waved.  Across  the 
middle  of  .the  fore  wings  is  a  wavy  white  stripe  shaded 
with  brick  red  on  the  outer  edge.  The  same  stripe  crosses 
the  hind  wing  nearer  the  margin.  The  fore  wings  near 
the  shoulder  are  dull  red,  and  on  their  tips  is  a  black 
spot  with  a  bluish  crescent.  Near  the  centre  of  each  wing 


THE    BUTTERFLY    IIUXTERS. 


147 


n 


148  »THE   BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

is  a  long,  crescent-shaped  spot  of  dull  white  shaded  on  the 
lower  edge  with  the  same  shade  of  red  as  appears  on  the 
shoulders.  The  Attacus  Cecropia  has  large  feathered  an- 
tennae, and  its  body  is  very  thick  and  clumsy  :  its  back 
is  dull  red,  and  underneath  it  is  mixed  red  and  white. 
The  caterpillar  of  the  Cecropia  moth  is  a  huge,  disgusting 
fellow.  He  is  more  than  three  inches  long,  of  a  clear 
green  color,  and  covered  with  red  and  yellow  warts  and 
black  bristles.  It  lives  on  various  kinds  of  fruit  trees.  I 
have  often  captured  specimens  of  this  caterpillar  and  sup- 
plied them  with  the  proper  leaves  for  food,  in  the  hope 
of  seeing  the  process  of  transformation  to  the  cocoon ;  but 
this  caterpillar,  like  others  of  the  genus  Attacus,  does  not 
like  confinement,  and  my  specimens  have  always  died. 
You  will  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  the  cocoons.  They 
are  firmly  attached  to  the  side  of  twigs,  and  the  best  way 
to  preserve  them  is  to  cut  the  twig  and  allow  the  cocoon 
to  remain  as  placed  by  the  worm.  Sometimes  the  cocoon 
is  twisted  off  by  the  wind  and  falls  among  the  dry  leaves. 
vThe  insect  remains  in  the  chrysalis  all  Winter,  and  breaks 
forth  from  its  prison  cell  some  time  in  June. 

"The  Attacus  Polyphemus  is  also  a  very  large  moth.  In 
the  caterpillar  state  it  lives  on  the  Oak  and  Elm,  and 
forms  its  cocoon  with  an  outward  covering  of  leaves  very 
much  the  same  way  as  the  Luna  moth.  The  caterpillars 
of  the  Luna  and  Polyphemus  are  very  similar,  but  the 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  149 

moths  are  entirely  different.  The  hind  wings  of  the  Poly- 
phemus are  round,  without  the  slightest  indication  of  the 
long  tail  of  the  Luna.  The  color  of  the  wings  is  dull 
yellow,  slightly  clouded  with  black.  Near  the  margin  of 
the  fore  wings  is  a  gray  band,  and  at  the  shoulder  are 
two  short  red  and  white  lines.  Just  within  the  edge  of 
the  hind  wings  is  a  dark  gray  band  with  an  outer  edge 
of  reddish  white.  On  the  centre  of  each  wing  is  a  trans- 
parent spot,  crossed  by  a  fine  line,  and  encircled  by  rings 
of  yellow  and  black.  The  whole  is  surrounded  by  a  large 
blue  spot  shaded  into  black.  On  the  fore  pair  of  wings 
this  spot  is  much  smaller  and  less  prominent  than  on  the 
hind  pair.  The  wings  of  the  Attacus  Polyphemus  expand 
from  five  to  six  inches. 

"The  Attacus  Promethia  is  much  smaller  than  the  other 
three.  It  rarely  expands  over  three  and  a  half  inches.  Its 
caterpillar  lives  on  Sassafras  and  Wild  Cherry  trees,  and 
the  silk  with  which  it  attaches  its  cocoon  to  the  twigs  is 
so  strong  that  the  rudest  winds  and  storms  of  Winter  have 
no  power  to  disturb  the  case  of  dried  leaves  within  which 
the  cocoon  rests  securely.  When  the  fresh  June  foliage  is 
in  its  prime  the  moth  breaks  forth.  The  color  of  the  Pro- 
methia moth  differs  according  to  the  sex.  The  male  is 
dark  bluish  brown,  and  the  female  a  light  reddish  tint. 
Across  the  middle  of  the  wings,  in  both,  runs  a  whitish 
line,  shaded  toward  the  margin  into  a  wide,  clay-colored 


150 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 


border  through  which  runs  a  wavy  line  of  red.  Along 
the  edge  of  the  hind  wing  are  six  oblong  spots.  Near  the 
tip  of  each  fore  wing  is  a  round  black  spot  within  a  bluish 
white  line.  At  the  centre  of  each  wing  on  the  female 
there  is  an  oblong  reddish-white  spot  surrounded  by  a  line 


Attacus  Promethia. 

of  black.      These  same  spots  may  be  seen  very  faintly  on 
the  under  side  of  the  male,  but  never  on  the  upper  side. 

"The  Arctia  Acrea,  or  Beach  moth,  is  a  small  but  very 
pretty  variety,  now  becoming  quite  common  in  our  inland 
towns.  Its  home  is  on  the  great  salt  marshes,  but  it  is 
supposed  that  the  chrysalids  have  been  brought  inland 
with  loads  of  salt  hay,  and  in  this  way  it  is  fast  becoming 


THE   BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 


Arctia  Acrea. 


at  home  in  a  new  atmosphere.  The  caterpillar  of  the 
Beach  moth  belongs  to  the  bear  family,  so  called  because 
the  caterpillars  belonging  to  it  are  covered  with  hairs, 
Arctia,  the  name  of  the  genus,  being  from  the  Greek  word 
for  bear.  The  female  of  the 
Beach  moth  is  very  beauti- 
ful. The  wings,  which  ex- 
pand about  two  inches  and 
a  half,  appear  like  white  vel- 
vet marked  with  fine  black 
spots.  The  male  of  this 
moth  is  not  quite  so  deli- 
cate as  the  female  and  is  a  little  smaller.  Its  fore  pair 
of  wings  are  white  marked  with  black,  the  same  as  those 
of  the  female,  but  the  hind  pair  are  reddish  yellow,  also 
marked  with  black.  The  body  of  the  moth  is  the  same 
in  both  male  and  female.  The  head  is  white  and  velvety, 
and  the  body  is  reddish  yellow,  with  a  line  of  black  spots 
on  the  back. 

"  Another  very  beautiful  moth  is  the  Dryocampa  Imperi- 
alis.  I  have  a  pair  of  these  which  at  different  times  were 
hatched  from  chrysalids  in  my  possession,  and  I  have 
brought  them  here  to  show  you.  Unfortunately,  I  was 
not  present  when  either  of  these  insects  came  forth.  I 
found  them  fully  open  and  ready  for  flight.  The  cater- 
pillar of  this  moth  goes  into  the  ground  to  form  its  chrys- 


152 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 


alis,  and  the  pupa  remains  there  all  Winter.  In  June  the 
chrysalis  works  its  way  to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and 
projects  the  end  through  which  the  moth  is  about  to  burst 
for'h.  You  will  often  find  the  chrysalids  while  digging 


Dryocampa  Imperialis. 


your  garden  in  the  Spring,  and  although  the  removal  from 
the  ground  before  the  proper  time  often  tends  to  kill  what 
life  there  may  be  in  the  inside,  still  very  frequently  this 
is  not  the  case.  I  have  often  been  successful  in  feeding 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  153 

the  worms  in  a  box  of  earth,  and  in  that  way  allowing 
the  chrysalis  to  come  out  of  the  ground  at  its  own  time. 
You  will  find  the  worms  of  the  Imperialis  moth  on  Button- 
wood-trees.  These  worms  are  several  inches  long  and  of 
a  greenish  color,  with  a  red  tint  along  the  back.  The 
head  and  legs  are  pale  orange.  If  you  catch  them  about 
the  first  of  September,  which  is  near  the  time  they  are 
ready  to  go  into  the  ground,  they  will  take  kindly  to  your 
box  of  earth,  and  your  experiment  will  probably  be  suc- 
cessful. The  moth  of  the  Dryocampa  Imperialis  expands 
about  five  inches.  It  is  of  a  delicate  yellow  color,  sprinkled 
with  purple  dots.  Across  each  wing  is  a  wavy  band  of 
purple.  The  body  is  the  same  color  as  the  wings,  yellow 
dotted  with  purple. 

"I  have  told  you  that  this  section  of  Lepidoptera  is 
divided  into  two  grand  classes,  —  Moths  and  Hawk-moths. 
I  have  described  to  you  some  of  the  largest  of  the  Moths, 
and  will  now  tell  you  about  a  few  belonging  to  the  other 
division.  The  Hawk-moths  are  almost  all  of  them  large 
and  clumsy,  but  for  all  that  they  are  frequently  called 
Humming-bird  moths,  from  the  loud  humming  sound  they 
make  in  flying,  and  because  they  hover  over  flowers  in 
the  same  manner  as  humming-birds,  while  taking  their 
food.  These  moths  generally  appear  at  twilight,  before  it 
has  grown  very  dark.  The  caterpillars  of  the  Hawk-moths 
crawl  into  the  ground  for  transformation,  and  the  pupa 
remains  there  through  the  Winter. 


154 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 


Sphinx  Quinquemaculatus. 

"One  of  the  largest  of  these  moths  is  the  Sphinx  Quin- 
quemaculatus, or  Five-spotted  Sphinx.  It  is  named  from 
the  five  round  orange  spots  on  each  side  of  the  body. 
You  are  probably  all  familiar  with  the  large  green  potato 
worm,  as  it  is  called.  This  is  the  worm  of  the  Five- 
spotted  Sphinx.  It  lives  among  the  potato  vines  all  Sum- 
mer, and  about  the  last  of  August  crawls  into  the  ground, 
where  it  remains  until  Spring.  The  Five-spotted  Sphinx 
is  a  coarse-looking  creature.  Its  wings  are  a  dull  mixture 
of  black  and  gray.  They  expand  a  little  over  five  inches. 
The  tube  through  which  this  moth  draws  its  food  is  very 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  155 

curious.  I  remember  watching  them,  when  I  was  quite 
young,  playing  about  in  the  early  evening  over  the  Honey- 
suckle in  front  of  my  father's  house.  The  long  tongue 
which  they  thrust  down  into  the  deep  cups  of  the  flowers 
excited  my  wonder  so  much  that  I  determined  to  catch 
one  and  examine  it.  After  working  with  my  cap  for  some 
time  I  succeeded  in  capturing  a  fine  specimen.  After  se- 
curing him  under  a  glass  he  appeared  to  have  no  ^tongue 
at  all.  Supposing  I  had  caught  the  wrong  one,  I  let  him 
go  and  trapped  another,  with,  however,  the  same  result. 
I  was  sure  that  this  fellow  had  a  tongue,  for  I  had  seen 
him  use  it.  My  first  thought  was  that  it  was  broken  off, 
and  I  looked  for  it  in  my  cap.  Finally  I  discovered  it 
carefully  coiled  up  and  quite  concealed  by  the  two  feelers 
at  each  side  of  the  head.  After  killing  the  insect  I  un- 
rolled the  tongue.  It  was  full  five  inches  long. 

"There  is  another  very  common  kind  of  Sphinx  or 
Hawk-moth  which  lives  on  Elm-trees.  Its  wings  expand 
about  four  inches,  and  are  of  a  very  delicate  ashen  gray 
marked  with  white.  Its  name  is  Ceratomia  Quadricornis, 
but  I  propose  that  we  call  it  the  Elm  moth,  for  I  don't 
believe  that  one  of  you  will  ever  remember  the  other 
name.  Sometimes  these  Elm  moths  are  so  numerous  as 
to  do  great  mischief  to  those  noble  trees.  The  wings  of 
all  these  Hawk-moths  are  quite  peculiar  in  shape.  The 
fore  pair  are  very  long  and  narrow,  suited  for  a  strong 


156  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

and   rapid   flight.      The  hind   pair  are   very   much   shorter 

and  also  quite  narrow. 

"  The    clear-winged    Sphinxes,    belonging    to    the    genus 

Sesia,   are   very   pretty.      They    do    not    seem    like    moths. 

Instead  of  moving  about 
heavily  after  nightfall,  they 
fly  in  the  warm  sunshine 
and  hover  over  sweet  flow- 
ers with  all  the  activity  of 
bees.  When  their  wings  are 
closed  they  are  about  as 

Clear-winged  Sphinx.  ^    ^    &    good.sized    bum. 

ble-bee.  They  never  light  while  taking  their  food,  but 
dart  from  flower  to  flower  with  all  the  grace  and  rapidity 
of  a  humming-bird.  We  will  call  them  -the  Fairy  moths. 
The  body  of  these  insects  is  somewhat  heavy,  of  a. dark 
brown  color,  and  covered  with  a  feathery  down,  but  the 
wings  are  exquisitely  delicate.  They  expand  about  two 
inches,  are  long  and  narrow,  and  vibrate  with  great  ra- 
pidity when  the  little  insect  hangs  over  a  flower.  They 
are  composed  of  transparent  lace-work  with  a  reddish- 
brown  border,  which  is  very  narrow  except  at  the  tip 
of  the  fore  wings.  The  antennae  are  long,  and  enlarged 
towards  the  end,  but  not  knobbed." 

Mr.  Benedict  stopped  a  moment  and  leaned  on  his  desk, 
regarding  the  boys  attentively. 


THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS.  157 

"My  young  friends,"  said  he,  "it  has  been  an  untold 
pleasure  to  me  to  review  with  you  during  the  Summer 
that  is  past  a  small  part  of  my  own  studies  in  this  beau- 
tiful section  of  Natural  History.  I  have  been  also  much 
gratified  at  the  interest  you  all  have  manifested  in  collect- 
ing specimens  and  in  listening  to  my  lectures  about  them. 
It  is  my  fond  hope  that  this  small  beginning  may  awaken 
in  some  of  you  at  least  the  desire  to  pursue  the  study 
further,  and  it  is  not  impossible  that,  thus  awakened,  you: 
may  go  on  and  become  men  high  in  the  ranks  of  science. 

"In  this  hope,  and  with  the  assurance  that  what  we: 
have  studied  is,  however  small,  at  least  good  in  itself,  L 
dismiss  our  last  session  as  a  class." 


i58 


THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

THE    BUTTERFLY    FESTIVAL. 

UMMER  was  past.  All  along  the  roadside 
the  Solidago  and  bright  blue  Asters,  the 
last  wild-flowers  of.  the  year,  lifted  their 
blossoms  to  meet  the  Autumn  sun,  and  on 
every  hillside  stood  clumps  of  Oak  and 
Maple  resplendent  in  their  coats  of  maroon, 
and  yellow,  and  scarlet. 

These  days  were  golden  indeed  to  Annie  Webb.  She 
sat  in  her  chamber  watching  the  hazy  Autumn  sunlight 
brooding  over  the  hills,  while  the  scarlet  leaves  of  the 
Woodbine  over  the  window  drifted  in  and  lighted  now 
on  her  hair,  now  on  the  carpet  at  her  feet.  She  had 
walked  about  her  chamber,  but  had  not  yet  ventured  to 
go  down  the  stairs.  One  day  she  stood  looking  out  into 
the  yard  where  the  bright  yellow  leaves  from  the  Ash- 
trees  before  the  house  lay  all  about  in  heaps. 

"  O  mother,"  said  she,  suddenly,  "  when  I  have  heard 
the  dry  leaves  rustle  as  Johnny  ran  over  them,  I  have 
always  longed  to  walk  among  them  myself.  Don't  you 
think  I  might  try  to  go  out  in  the  yard  to-day  ? " 

"  Yes,  Annie,"  said  her  mother,  "  I  think  you  might  try. 


THE   BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS.  159 

If  it  tires  you  to  go  down  stairs,  you  can  rest  on  your  old 
seat  by  the  front  door." 

Mrs.  Webb  threw  her  arm  gently  round  the  young  'girl 
and  supported  her  as  they  went  down  stairs.  It  was  a 
moment  of  great  excitement  to  Annie.  When  they  reached 
the  door  she  turned  away  from  her  old  seat  with  a  half- 
suppressed  sigh,  as  she  thought  of  the  long,  long  days  she 
had  spent  there,  and  leaning  on  her  mother's  arm  passed 
out  into  the  sunny  yard.  It  was  true  then  at  last.  She 
stood  out  under  the  trees  and  among  the  fallen  leaves  and 
rustled  them  with  her  own  little  feet.  She  thought  she 
had  never  heard  sweeter  music  than  the  rustling  of  those 
leaves.  When  she  at  last  turned  to  go  back  to  the  house, 
her  face  was  flushed  and  her  eyes  shone  with  excitement. 

"The  boys  can  have  their  Festival  now,  mother,"  said 
she.  "They  have  been  very  good  to  wait  for  me,  but  they 
need  not  wait  any  longer." 

The  boys  had  selected  a  lovely  spot  on  the  side  of  the 
mountain  for  their  Festival.  The  Mountain  Stream  started 
from  several  springs  near  the  hill-top,  in  the  midst  of  a 
forest  of  noble  Maples.  For  a  little  distance  below  its 
sources  the  banks  on  each  side  were  gently  sloped,  smooth, 
and  grassy,  and  this  was  the  spot  selected  for  the  Festival 
ground.  Just  below  this  spot  there  was  a  beautiful  cas- 
cade, which  went  tumbling  down  into  a  deep  and  narrow 
ravine.  The  sides  of  the  chasm  were  rock  and  quite  per- 


I6O  THE   BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 

pendicular.  Graceful  Birches  intermixed  with  stately,  un- 
yielding Hemlocks,  drooped  over,  and  completely  shut  out 
the '  sun.  It  was  always  damp  and  gloomy  in  the  gorge, 
and  its  walls  were  covered  with  exquisite  moss.  At  the 
bottom  rushed  the  Mountain  Stream.  A  fairy-like  scene 
it  was  to  one  standing  just  below  the  fall  and  looking  up. 
Down  through  the  Birches  and  dark  green  Hemlocks  at 
the  farther  end  of  the  ravine  dashed  the  foamy  water  with 
a  clear,  cheerful  sound,  and  ran  on  over  the  rocky  bed, 
laughing  merrily  at  its  brave  leap.  Its  spray  rose  lightly 
into  the  sunlight,  and  played  in  rainbow  colors  among  the 
intricately  woven  boughs. 

The  Festival  day  came  at  last.  Early  in  the  morning 
the  sun  was  quite  concealed  by  a  heavy  white  mist,  but 
soon  it  parted  here  and  there,  showing  clear  blue  sky 
beyond,  and  by  the  time  our  young  folks  were  all  wide 
awake  the  mist  had  rolled  off  down  the  valley  out  of  sight. 

The  arrangements  for  the  Festival  were  all  complete. 
Annie  had  been  chosen  for  the  Queen  of  all  the  butter- 
flies, and  Rose  Merton,  Frank's  cousin  Mary,  and  two  other 
girls  were  to  be  her  assistant  fairies,  The  boys  had  built 
a  gorgeous  throne  in  the  grove.  It  was  arched  over  with 
boughs  of  scarlet  Maple,  and>  festooned  with  long  wreaths 
of  evergreen,  in  which  were  fastened  innumerable  yellow 
butterflies,  which  Tom  and  Hal  had  been  collecting  all 
Summer  for  this  very  purpose. 


THE    BUTTERFLY   HUNTERS.  l6l 

The  young  folks  began  to  gather  on  the  bank  of  the 
Mountain  Stream  about  noon.  All  our  old  friends  of  the 
butterfly  class  werre  there,  and  many  other  young  people 
who  had  been  invited  to  share  the  sports  of  the  day.  Tom 
and  Hal,  with  Maggie  Stewart,  were  the  last  to  arrive. 

"Now,"  said  Jennie  Graham,  "we  are  all  here  ready  to 
do  homage  to  our  Queen." 

The  young  folks  were  waiting  with  much  impatience  for 
Annie  to  arrive.  With  the  exception  of  Tom  and  Hal, 
no  one  had  seen  her  since  her  recovery. 

It  was  not  long  before  a  shout  was  heard  from  the  boys 
who  had  been  sent  to  the  entrance  of  the  picnic  ground 
to  herald  the  coming  of  the  royal  party.  The  children  all 
watched  eagerly  for  its  approach,  and  very  soon  the  pro- 
cession appeared.  Two  maids  of  honor  came  first,  and 
then  Annie  with  Rose  and  little  Mary.  Behind  them  came 
Mr.  Benedict,  Annie's  father  and  mother,  and  the  parents 
of  some  of  the  other  young  folks.  Annie  was  dressed  in 
green,  spangled  all  over  with  silver  butterflies.  On  her' 
head  she  wore  a  wreath  of  white  flowers. 

As  Annie  walked  slowly  across  the  green  to  her  throne,, 
the  young  folks  made  the  woods  ring  with  their  shouts. 
It  was  almost  too  much  to  believe  that  she  was  with- 
them  there  happy  and  well,  instead  of  being  the  feeble; 
lame  girl  they  had  known  for  so  long  a  time. 

Mr.  Benedict  took  Annie's  hand  and  assisted  her'  to 
ii 


1 62  THE   BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

mount  the  throne.  The  four  maids  of  honor  seated  them- 
selves on  the  moss-covered  steps  at  her  feet.  Then  Annie 
looked  all  round  on  the  company  and  smiled  her  thanks 
for  its  hearty  welcome. 

"  Now,  boys,"  said  Mr.  Benedict,  "  while  our  pretty 
Queen  is  resting  with  her  maids,  let  us  all  spend  the 
time  in  games,  after  which  we  will  see  which  boy  will 
have  the  good  fortune  to  win  the  privilege  of  escorting 
the  Queen  to  lunch." 

The  boys  had  arranged  a  croquet  ground  on  the  green, 
and  it  was  now  taken  possession  of  by  a  party  of  the 
young  folks,  others  went  to  enjoy  the  swings  which  had 
been  put  up  in  the  grove,  and  some  strayed  away  in 
search  of  Autumn  flowers  and  grasses.  Maggie  Stewart 
stayed  with  Annie  and  her  maids  of  honor.  The  meeting 
between  the  two  girls  was  very  joyous.  It  was  hard  to 
say  which-  felt  the  most  pleasure,  Maggie  to  know  that 
her  friend  was  well,  or  Annie  to  think  that  she  was  so 
partly  through  Maggie's  instrumentality. 

"So  you  are  to  be  caught  and  carried  off  as  a  prize, 
Annie,"  said  Maggie. 

"O  no,"  replied  Annie,  "I  shall  not  be  caught  at  all. 
The  boys  are  to  win  me  if  they  can,  but  they  can't." 

"And  if  they  don't  catch  you,  then  they  have  no  right 
to  try  for  the  maids  of  honor,  have  they  ? "  asked  modest 
little  Mary. 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  163 

•» 

"No,  Mary.  They  must  catch  the  Queen  first,  or  go 
without  any  of  us." 

It  was  not  long  before  the  company,  especially  the  boys, 
came  trooping  back  to  the  green.  They  were  on  tiptoe 
to  know  about  catching  the  Queen.  When  they  were  all 
assembled,  Rose  stood  up  by  Annie  and  said  that  the 
Queen  would  now  yield  up  her  place  as  head  of  the 
Festival  to  any  boy  who  could  catch  her.  "The  boy 
who  succeeds,"  said  Rose,  "shall  stand  with  the  Queen 
at  the  head  of  the  table  and  be  hailed  King  of  the 
Festival.  If  the  Queen  conquers  all  her  subjects  she 
shall  have  the  right  to  choose  her  own  companion." 

By  order  of  the  girls  the  boys  had  built  two  seats  on 
the  throne,  and  they  were  now  to  fight  for  the  right  of 
occupying  the  vacant  one  by  Annie's  side.  Rose  said  she 
thought  the  boys  would  yield  to  Mr.  Benedict  the  right 
to  make  the  first  trial. 

"No,  no,  we  won't  do  that,"  said  Tom,  Hal,  and  a  dozen 
others  at  once.  , 

"Then  you  must  draw  lots  for  chances,"  said  Rose. 

Tom  wrote  some  numbers  on  little  pieces  of  paper  and 
they  were  all  shaken  together  in  a  basket,  which  Rose 
held,  and  each  boy  drew  out  one  ticket.  Only  the  boys 
belonging  to  the  butterfly  class  were  allowed  to  draw. 

"  Number  one ! "  shouted  Joe  Dane,  as  he  waved  his 
ticket  triumphantly  over  his  head. 


164  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

• 

Annie  came  down  the  steps  of  her  throne  and  stood  on 
the  grass.  Joe  Dane  was  waiting  in  great  excitement  to 
know  what  he  was  expected  to  do,  when  Rose  stepped 
forward  and  handed  him  a  grace-hoop  and  a  pair  of 
sticks.  Another  maid  of  honor  gave  a  similar  set  to 
Annie. 

"The  boy  who  can  crown  me  with  the  hoop,"  said 
Annie,  "shall  conduct  me  back  to  the  throne  and  occupy 
the  vacant  seat  by  my  side." 

All  the  boys  cheered  loudly  for  the  Queen  and  for  the 
game.  They  were  all  skilful  players  and  they  laughed  at 
Annie's  confidence  that  no  one  could  catch  her. 

"  Where  did  Annie  learn  to  play  ? "  asked  Gilbert. 

"O,  Annie  used  to  play  with  me,"  said  Johnny,  "as 
she  sat  by  the  front  door  at  home,  and  she  never  missed 
catching  the  hoop.  I  don't  believe  one  of  you  can  crown 
her." 

At  a  signal  from  Rose  the  game  started.  The  hoops, 
which  were  trimmed  with  flowers,  flew  back  and  forth 
through  the  air.  Joe's  four  throws,  which  were  all  that  were 
allowed  to  each  boy,  were  soon  given,  and  at  every  throw 
Annie  caught  the  hoop  gracefully  and  surely  on  the  end 
of  her  sticks.  The  boys  shouted  as  Joe  threw  down  his 
sticks  and  retired  discomfited  from  the  field.  Gilbert's  turn 
came  next.  He  confidently  took  up  the  sticks. 

"Annie,"  said  he,  "it  's  too  bad  for  such  a  great  fellow 


THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS.  165 

as  I  am  to  play  with  you.  I  can  throw  the  hoops  so 
much  faster  than  you  can  catch  them." 

For  reply  Annie  sent  a  hoop  whirling  at  his  head  which, 
before  he  could  spring  and  catch  it,  landed  safely  on  his 
broad  shoulders. 

"  Now  do  the  same  to  me  if  you  can,"  said  Annie. 

But  it  was  no  use.  Boy  after  boy  tried  his  skill  and 
failed. 

"Annie  will  get  tired  at  last,"  said  Ben  Wait,  "and  then 
she  will  be  easily  caught." 

"No,  she  won't  be  tired,"  said  Johnny.  "She  often  plays 
with  me  all  the  afternoon." 

At  length  all  had  tried  and  failed  except  Hal.  He  took 
his  place  and  gave  all  his  attention  to  the  throws.  Playing 
as  fast  as  they  were,  it  did  not  take  long  for  the  trial  to 
be  over.  Annie  caught  the  last  hoop  and  whirling  it  on 
her  sticks  turned  in  triumph  to  the  boys. 

"Now  Annie  is  Queen,"  shouted  little  Frank,  "and  she 
must  ascend  the  throne  alone." 

"No,  Frankie,"  said  Annie,  "I  shall  not  mount  my 
throne  alone.  I  am  going  to  take  you  with  me." 

She  went  forward  and  taking  the  little  fellow's  hand, 
led  him  up  the  steps  and  placed  him  in  the  chair  at  her 
side.  Then  turning  to  the  company  she  bade  them  all  do 
homage  to  their  King.  The  whole  party,  vexed  as  they 
were  at  their  own  failure  to  win  the  place  of  honor,  burst 


1 66  THE  BUTTERFLY  HUNTERS. 

into  roars  of  laughter,  and  all  hastened  forward  to  greet 
Frank  as  King.  The  little  fellow  was  almost  wild  with 
delight. 

"Now,"  said  Annie,  "choose  your  companion  and  we  will 
march  to  the  lunch  table." 

"  I  am  bound  to  catch  somebody,"  said  Joe  Dane,  and 
seizing  a  grace-hoop  he  threw  it  over  the  head  of  little 
Mary  and  led  her  off  in  triumph. 

The  boys  had  built  a  rustic  table  just  within  the  grove, 
for  the  lunch.  It  was  trimmed  with  evergreen  and  red 
leaves,  and  in  the  centre  was  placed  a  small  Fir-tree,  its 
branches  ornamented  with  gay-colored  butterflies. 

The  party  spent  a  long  time  about  the  table.  Annie 
was  full  of  fun.  As  she  moved  about  among  them  all,  her 
silver  butterflies  glistening  in  the  light,  she  seemed  to  be 
in  a  new  world. 

After  lunch  they  spent  the  time  in  singing  and  playing 
games.  But  the  day  passed  away,  as  all  sweet  things  do, 
and  the  long  shadows  of  the  setting  sun  at  length  warned 
.them  to  turn  towards  home. 

It  was  Tom's  last  evening  in  the  country.  After  the 
picnic  the  whole  party  walked  home  with  him  to  his  uncle's 
house.  They  were  all  unwilling  to  bid  him  good  by,  for 
through  the  long  Summer  days  he  had  been  their  favorite 
companion,  skilful  and  ready  at  all  their  games,  and  always 
full  of  fun  and  good-nature. 


THE    BUTTERFLY    HUNTERS. 


The  parting  words  were  all  said  at  last.  Tom  stood 
under  the  Elm  with  his  sister  and  his  two  cousins,  and 
watched  his  young  friends  go  off  down  the  road.  At  the 
foot  of  the  hill  they  all  turned  and  waved  their  handker- 
chiefs as  a  last  good  by,  and  then  passed  out  of  sight. 


Cambridge :  Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  Welch,  Bigelow,  &  Co. 


